Know More About the Extension of The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Furlough Scheme) – Part 2

In this blog, you will get to know more about this scheme, what you can claim, and the deadline for the same.
Let’s get started

What Can You Claim?

The Furlough Scheme offers to pay up to 80% of the employee’s wages for the hours they have not worked (a maximum of £2,500 per month) for those who have been furloughed.

Employers will have to pay pension contributions and National Insurance Contributions for the hours not worked. This compares to the amount payable under the Furlough Scheme in August 2020. This level of the grant may be revised in January 2021.

The way of calculating usual hours for claiming under the Furlough Scheme will be subject to whether the employee was hired between 20 March and 30 October 2020 or whether the employer has claimed before for the employee prior to 31 October 2020 and the employer claims on behalf of the employee for the first time on or after 1 November 2020.

It should be noted that until 30 November 2020, you can claim on behalf of the laid-off employees serving the notice period. However, they will not be able to claim in regards to a redundancy payment.

However, according to the updated guidance, for claims starting on or after 1 December 2020, employers will not be able to claim for days where the laid-off employee is serving the statutory or contractual notice period.

This will apply to employees serving a notice period for reasons including resignation from an employee or are made redundant and serving a notice period.

This substantial change in the rules may limit the number of people employers will re-employ in order to put on furlough unless they are assured that their jobs will be safe when this scheme comes to an end.

Deadlines

For Furlough Scheme employees, up to 31 October, claim must be made by 30 November. Claims related to employees laid off under the extended scheme for periods starting on or after 1 November should be made by 14 December. For claims after that, no later than 14 calendar days following the month claimed for.