Tag: furlough

FURLOUGH 5.0

Our partners at www.PayrollForNannies.co.uk  provide payroll advice for parents and nannies and have provided this content. For more advice and support please get in touch with them.

On Saturday 31st October, the government announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will continue until 1 December 2020 with grants covering 80% of wages, while implementation of the Job Support Scheme (JSS) has been delayed. This change has been brought about by the lock down to be introduced from Thursday, 5 November. Many MPs felt that the JSS provided insufficient support during a lock down.

The new national restrictions will apply from 5 November to 2 December 2020, but the financial support for employers applies from 1 November as the furlough scheme operates on full calendar months. October’s wages will still only be reclaimable at 60% of nanny’s standard gross, but as of November 80% will once again be reimbursed.

How much can be reclaimed under CJRS?

The CJRS will continue in force with the same conditions as applied in August 2020. The grant paid to employers will pay for 80% of the employee’s current wages for time not worked, up to £2,500 per month. The employer must pay for all the employer’s NIC and employer’s minimum workplace pension contributions on those wages.

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

Which employees qualify?

Employees who were on the employer’s payroll on 30 October 2020 will qualify to be included in CJRS claim for November; they do not 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.

Flexi furlough

Flexible furlough will be permitted alongside full-time furlough, so nannies 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.

How to claim?

If you would like to furlough your nanny in November, whether or not you have chosen to do so in the past, just let us know the date from which this will start and whether or not you would like to top their wages up to full pay and we will take care of everything for you.

THE JOB RETENTION BONUS EXPLAINED

Our partners at www.PayrollForNannies.co.uk  provide payroll advice for parents and nannies and have provided this content. For more advice and support please get in touch with them.

In our review of Rishi Sunak’s Winter Economy Plan https://src-time.co.uk/government-announces-further-covid-19-support/, we referred to the Job Retention Bonus (JRB) which was announced earlier this year to sit alongside the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), although it does not actually form part of it.  The Chancellor has decided that when the new Job Support Scheme (JSS) commences on 1 November, it will be possible to claim both it and the JRB. 

Background 

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the scheme in July 2020 as an incentive for employers to retain staff in respect of whom they were receiving CJRS payments, after the CJRS scheme had ended.   

The scheme comprises a one-off payment to employers of £1,000 in respect of every eligible employee for whom the employer has made a valid claim under the CJRS and who remains continuously employed through to 31 January 2021. 

The JRB payment will be subject to corporation tax or income tax, so the business must include the whole amount as income when calculating its taxable profits. 

Employers will be able to claim the JRB through gov.uk after they have filed their RTI returns for January.  Payments will be made to employers from February 2021 by direct bank transfer 

Qualifying employers 

All types of employers are eligible for the scheme including recruitment agencies and umbrella companies, as well as those private households operating a PAYE scheme in respect of domestic staff. The employer must: 

  • have a UK bank account 
  • have complied with their obligations to pay and file PAYE accurately and on time under the RTI reporting system for all employees to the end of January 2021; and 
  • be up to date with payroll obligations and have addressed all requests from HMRC to provide missing employee data in respect of historic CJRS claims. 

Employee eligibility 

Each employee must have been: 

  • furloughed and the subject of an eligible CJRS claim; 
  • continuously employed by the relevant employer from the time of the employer’s most recent CJRS claim for them, to 31 January 2021; and 
  • paid a total of at least £1,560 for the period 1 November 2020 to 31 January 2021. The employee does not have to be paid £520 in each month but must have received some earnings in each of the three calendar months that have been paid and reported to HMRC via RTI. 

Claims may be made for employees who are office holders, company directors and agency workers, including those employed by umbrella companies. These criteria must be met regardless of the frequency of the employee’s pay periods, their hours worked or rate of pay. 

Employees who have returned from statutory parental leave or who are military reservists returning to work after 10 June 2020, for whom a CJRS claim has been made, all qualify provided the other eligibility criteria are met, as do employees who are on fixed term contracts. 

Note that the employee must not be serving a contractual or statutory notice period, that started before 1 February 2021. 

Job Retention Bonus


A one-off payment of £1,000 will be made to UK employers for every furloughed employee who remains continuously employed through to the end of January 2021. Employees must earn above the Lower Earnings Limit (£520 per month) on average between the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme at the end of October 2020 and the end of January 2021. Payments will be made from February 2021.

This bonus will be available to any employer who has furloughed an employee, even if just for the minimum three week period.

For more advice and support about Coronavirus and how it might affect employment or any other pay related issues please get in touch.

NEW CALCULATION METHOD FOR FOR CJRS AFTER 1 AUGUST

From 1 August 2020, the level of the CJRS grant paid to employers will be reduced each month. To be eligible for the grant employers must pay furloughed employees 80% of their wages, up to a cap of £2,500 per month for the time they are being furloughed.

The timetable for changes to the scheme is set out below. Wage caps are proportional to the hours an employee is furloughed. For example, an employee is entitled to 60% of the £2,500 cap if they are placed on furlough for 60% of their usual hours:

  • There are no changes to grant levels in June.
  • For June and July, the government will pay 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 for the hours the employee is on furlough, as well as employer National Insurance Contributions (ER NICS) and pension contributions for the hours the employee is on furlough. Employers will have to pay employees for the hours they work.
  • For August, the government will pay 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 for the hours an employee is on furlough and employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions for the hours the employee is on furlough.
  • For September, the government will pay 70% of wages up to a cap of £2,187.50 for the hours the employee is on furlough. Employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions and top up employees’ wages to ensure they receive 80% of their wages up to a cap of £2,500, for time they are furloughed.
July August September October
Government contribution: employer NICs and pension contributions Yes No No No
Government contribution: wages 80% up to £2,500 80% up to £2,500 70% up to £2,187.50 60% up to £1,875
Employer contribution: employer NICs and pension contributions No Yes Yes Yes
Employer contribution: wages – – 10% up to £312.50 20% up to £625
Employee receives 80% up to £2,500 per month 80% up to £2,500 per month 80% up to £2,500 per month 80% up to £2,500 per month
  • For October, the government will pay 60% of wages up to a cap of £1,875 for the hours the employee is on furlough. Employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions and top up employees’ wages to ensure they receive 80% of their wages up to a cap of £2,500, for time they are furloughed.

Employers will continue to able to choose to top up employee wages above the 80% total and £2,500 cap for the hours not worked at their own expense if they wish. Employers will have to pay their employees for the hours worked.