On Thursday 5th November, the United Kingdom will enter it’s second full lockdown of the year. The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will remain in place until December. This scheme is known as the furlough scheme which was first introduced in March of 2020, and will see employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500. The cost for employers to retain employees will be reduced under the furlough scheme meaning it is more generous for employers than it was in October in an effort to retain as many jobs as possible.
Businesses forced to shut in England will be eligible for grants worth up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant, along with £1.1bn being given to Local Authorities distributed on the basis of £20 per head.
The Job Support Scheme which was due to come in on the 1st November 2020 which will now be postponed until the end of the furlough scheme which is currently due to end in December.
Mortgage holidays will also continue which will see those affected by coronavirus entitled to a six month mortgage holiday without it affecting their credit score. Mortgage holidays were meant to end on the 31st October 2020.
According to the gov.uk website, businesses required to close in England due to the newly announced restrictions will be eligible for the following:
- For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per month, or £667 per two weeks;
- For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks;
- For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks.
The Job Retention Scheme will operate as the previous scheme did, with the government paying 80% of wages up to £2,500 and employers will pay National Insurance Contributions and pension contributions for the hours not worked by the employee. This will be followed on by the Job Support Scheme.
All Employers with a UK bank account can claim the grant whether you have used the previous scheme. The scheme expects publicly funded businesses to not use the scheme unless their private revenue has been directly affected by the new restrictions.
An employee is eligible for this scheme if they were on the employer’s PAYE payroll by 23:59 on the 30th October 2020. A grant for the employee’s hours not worked will be calculated by reference to the employees usual hours worked over that period. Those on any type of contract are eligible, even if the employee is on a zero hour contract.
For more information, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/furlough-scheme-extended-and-further-economic-support-announced