The Job Support Scheme was due to be introduced from 1 November 2020 after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”) which was scheduled to end on 31 October 2020. However, it was announced on Saturday 31 October 2020 that the CJRS is being extended for one further month until December, with employees receiving 80 percent of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500. It was further announced on 5 November that the scheme will also be available until 31 March 2021. We understand this is UK wide. HMRC has also been asked to address a number of queries about the extension which we will report back on once we have a response.

The months of November 2020–March 2021 will therefore be the same as the month of August 2020 with employers only required to contribute Employer NICs and pension contributions.

The CJRS extension will operate as the previous scheme did, with businesses being paid upfront to cover wages costs. According to HMRC, there will be a short period when a change is needed to the legal terms of the scheme and to update the system and businesses will be paid in arrears for that period. Flexible furloughing will be allowed in addition to full-time furloughing. Further details, including how to claim through an updated claims service, will be provided shortly.

Who is eligible for extended CJRS?

Employers

• All employers with a UK bank account and UK PAYE schemes can claim the grant. Neither the employer nor the employee needs to have previously used the CJRS;
• The Government expects that publicly funded organisations will not use the scheme, as has already been the case for CJRS, but partially publicly funded organisations may be eligible where their private revenues have been disrupted. All other eligibility requirements apply to these employers.

Employees

• To be eligible to be claimed for under this extension, employees must be on an employer’s PAYE payroll by 23:59 on 30 October 2020. This means a Real Time Information (RTI) submission notifying payment for that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 30 October 2020;
• Employees can be on any type of contract. Employers must agree any working arrangements with employees.

Employers can claim the grant for the hours their employees are not working, calculated by reference to their usual hours worked in a claim period. Such calculations will broadly follow the same methodology as currently under the CJRS.

When claiming the CJRS grant for furloughed hours, employers will need to report and claim for a minimum period of seven consecutive calendar days. Employers will need to report hours worked and the usual hours an employee would be expected to work in a claim period. For worked hours, employees will be paid by their employer subject to their employment contract and employers will be responsible for paying the tax and NICs due on those amounts.

As with the previous CJRS, employers are still able to choose to top up employee wages above the scheme grant at their own expense if they wish.

The Government will confirm shortly when claims can first be made in respect of employee wage costs during November, but there will be no gap in eligibility for support between the previously announced end-date of CJRS and this extension.

Check our COVID-19 hub for the latest news on the various supports for businesses and taxpayers.