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Last Update: 26/11/2020

As of today, the furlough scheme has been extended up until March 2021. 

On October 31st it was announced by the prime minister that the country would be entering a second lockdown as of 5th November up until 2nd December. With this announcement came new plans for businesses and employees.

Furlough

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended until 31st March 2021. From 1st November 2020, employers are able to claim 80% of the employee’s usual salary for any hours they have not worked, capped at a maximum of £2,500 per month. To qualify for this, the employer should have completed a Real-Time Information (RTI) submission between 20th March 2020 and 30th October 2020, which notifies HMRC of payment of the employee’s earnings. However, employers do not need to have used the scheme before to claim for periods from 1st November.

Monthly deadlines have been introduced for claims, meaning that claims must be submitted within 14 calendar days after the month they relate to. The only exception is if this falls on a weekend, then the deadline is the next following weekday. Claims for any periods up to 31st October must be submitted on or before 30th November.

The government will review the scheme again in January 2021. In the meantime, the Job Support scheme has been postponed and the Job Retention Bonus will no longer be paid in February 2021.

At a glance:

  • Employees will receive 80% of their current salary for hours not worked.
  • This is capped up to £2500 a month.
  • Employers will only have to pay NI & Pension contributions
  • Employers can choose to top up employees’ wages at their own expense
  • All employers with a UK bank account and a UK PAYE scheme can claim the furlough grant
  • The employer should have completed a Real-Time Information (RTI) submission between 20th March 2020 and 30th October 2020
  • Claims for any periods up to 31st October must be submitted on or before 30th November.

 

Job retention scheme

The job retention scheme has been postponed and will start again in December after the furlough scheme has ended, you can read more about this on our previous blog

 

Business grants

Businesses in England that have been forced to close due to restrictions will be eligible for various business grants. The government are offering:

  • Up to £3000 per month under the local restriction support grant is the premises is forced to close
  • £1000 for every furloughed employee you keep on until at least the end of January
  • £1500 for every out of work 16-24-year-old given a high-quality six-month work placement
  • £2000 for every under 25 apprentices taken on until the end of January or £1500 for over 25s

 

Help for the self-employed – Third SEISS Grant

The third grant will offer 80% of three months average trading profits capped at £7,500 and will be paid out in a single taxable instalment. This grant will cover the period from 1 November 2020 to 29 January 2021. If you are eligible for the grant you will be able to claim the grant any time from 30th November 2020 to 29th January 2021.

To claim the third grant you must:

  • Be a self-employed individual or in a partnership (you can not claim if you trade through a limited company).
  • Have traded through in both the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 tax year.
  • Either be currently trading but are impacted by reduced demand or have previously been trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus.
  • Declare you have intentions to continue trade and declare that you reasonably believe that the impact on your business will cause a significant reduction in trading profits.
  • Keep evidence to show that your business has been impacted by coronavirus during the qualifying period.

You can check if you are eligible by visiting the gov.uk site and searching for self-employment income support scheme.

HMRC should be in contact with you if they think you qualify for the third grant. Like the previous grants, you must claim for this yourself as nobody can do it on your behalf. You can apply online for the grant on the gov.uk website.

There will be a fourth grant covering the period from February 2021 to April 2021. More information for this is expected to be available closer to the time.

 

If you require further help or support, please get in contact with us and we will be happy to help

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