Furlough scheme reinstated for English lockdown

The coronavirus job support scheme (CJRS) will continue until 2 December 2020 with grants covering 80% of wages, while implementation of the JSS has been delayed.

What support is given?

The furlough scheme has been reinstated with the similar conditions as applied in August 2020.

The employer can top-up the employee’s furlough pay at their own expense, if they wish to.

Business grants paid by local authorities for closed businesses premises will apply in England, the devolved administrations will set their own level of business support (see below).

Which employees qualify?

Employees who were on the employer’s payroll at 23 September 2020 will qualify to be included in CJRS claim for November; they don’t have to have been included in an earlier CJRS claim. The employee must have been paid by the employer, and that pay must have been reported on a RTI return before midnight on 30 October. Employees who were made redundant or who left the employment after 23 September 2020 can be reinstated and included in a CJRS claim for November.

Employees on any type of contract can qualify, including zero hours, contractors and sole-directors, but there will be issues over determining the reference pay to use and the usual hours worked.

Flexi furlough

Flexible furlough will be permitted alongside full-time furlough, so staff may be brought back part-time to say, set up the premises for the lifting of national restrictions, or to prepare for Brexit.

The same rules for flexible furlough will continue to apply as they have done since 1 July, so the employee may be furloughed for a few days or hours per week. There appears to be no minimum time set for furloughed hours or working hours.

However, each furlough claim must be for a period of at least seven consecutive calendar days.

Which employers qualify?

All employers with a UK bank account can claim support under the extended CJRS, there is no financial test to pass for larger employers as applies for the (now postponed) JSS.

Charities and not-for-profit organisations can also claim in respect of their employees. However, public sector bodies and publicly funded organisations are not expected to use the scheme.

How to claim?

The claim process will be very similar to that which has applied so far under CJRS, the employer will have to report the hours the employee has not worked in a claim period, and the usual hours.

Claims can be made up to 14 days from the end of the pay period, and the CJRS grant should be paid within six days of the claim being submitted. Some details are included in this factsheet but legislation is expected to be published shortly.

Self-employed

There is also increased support for the self-employed; the next SEISS grant will be given at 55% of average profits, and applications for those grants will open on 30 November.

Local grants

Where businesses have been required by law to close, they will be able to apply for a support grant from their English local authority, based on the rateable value of their business premises:

Different local business grants will be available in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Mortgage holidays

Applications for mortgage holidays for up to six months were due to close on 31 October, but this facility will now remain open for borrowers who have been impacted by coronavirus. The FCA will announced details of who can qualify in the next few days.