The government has issued another treasury direction (TD) extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to the end of April. This sixth TD modifies the previous one to cover the period from 1 February to 30 April 2021.  

As with the previous schemes (see weekly LELR 699), employees can either be fully furloughed or flexibly furloughed from 1 February 2021 as long as they are paid by PAYE and the employer made a Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020 notifying that a payment of earnings was made for them during that period. There is no requirement that a worker has to have previously been furloughed.

There is no change to the amount of furlough pay employees will receive which is calculated at 80 per cent of their usual wages for hours not worked up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. Employers will also continue to be required to pay National Insurance Contributions and pensions for hours not worked.

Employers have not been able to claim a grant under the CJRS for employees working their notice period since 1 December 2020. This is extended so that employers will not be able to claim a grant under the CJRS for employees working their notice during the period 1 February to 30 April 2021.

HMRC published the names of employers who have received payments under the CJRS on 26 January 2021. This does not include those employers who paid back the grant before the list was produced. The requirement on HMRC to publish information about employers is also extended to cover the period 1 February to 30 April 2021. From February HMRC will also publish an indication of the value of the claim within a banded range and the company number for companies and Limited Liability Partnerships.

According to the Resolution Foundation thinktank, the number of employees on the CJRS increased by 1.7 million between the end of October and mid-November to 4.1 million. It predicts that the government plan to wind down the scheme in late April will cause a fresh surge in unemployment, likely to peak in the summer.

To read the government guidance in more detail, go to:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-extends-furlough-and-loan-schemes

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wages-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/955806/210120_CJRS_DIRECTION_No_6___CJRS_extension_1_February_-_31_April__-_signed__2_.pdf

To see which employers have claimed under through the CJRS go to: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-who-have-claimed-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

To read the press release from the Resolution Foundation, go to: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/press-releases/4-million-employees-were-furloughed-in-november-and-december/