Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme extension: What does it mean for your business?

The government has revealed key dates in the furlough scheme calendar 

These are:

• 1st August – Employers are responsible for paying the national insurance and pension contributions of furloughed employees
• 1st September – Employers must start paying 10% of furloughed employees’ wages and the government reduces its contribution to 70%
• 1st October – Employers must start paying 20% of furloughed employees’ wages and the government reduces its contribution to 60%
• 31st October – The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) ends

In addition to reducing the percentage of the amount that it contributes, the government is also lowering the cap of the total salary it covers. This means the September and October changes will look a bit like this. 

You can no longer enroll anyone new onto the scheme

Under the CJRS extension, businesses can no longer enroll anyone new onto the scheme, but they can refurlough anyone who was previously enrolled onto the scheme between 1st March and 30th June – as long as they were furloughed for three consecutive weeks. This means the last date you could furlough an employee and they still be eligible for the CJRS under the latest updates was the 10th June. 

You can now furlough hours, so employees can return to work part time 

As part of the updated furlough scheme, the government has introduced flexible furloughing. This is where businesses can furlough a number of hours that an employee is contracted for. For example, if an employee is contracted 30 hours a week, you could furlough 15 of those hours. That means you’re responsible for paying 15 hours, and the government will pay the furloughed hours in line with the scheme. 

The government plans to keep flexible furloughing an option until the scheme ends on the 31st October. 

Find out how to work out flexible furloughing claims on the government website.