Furlough extended until March 2021

Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced today that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be extended until 31 March 2021:

Full details can be found by clicking here.

• The government will continue to cover 80% of wages for hours not worked (up to a £2,500 cap);
• Employers do not need to have used the CJRS previously and will only be required to cover NI and pension contributions (subject to certain exceptions);
• You need to confirm furlough arrangements in writing to employees in order to be eligible to claim - if you've already furloughed employees without writing to them, you have until 13 November to write to employees in order to claim for any period of furlough between 01 and 13 November;
• The support will cover England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland;
• The Job Retention Bonus will not apply as anticipated and a further incentive will be redeployed at a later date;
• The government will review whether to ask employers to contribute more in January 2021.

Full details and guidance will be published by the Government on 10 November 2020.