Samuel Phillips Law Blog
On Monday 4 January 2021, the Prime Minister announced that schools and colleges are to be closed to most pupils until at least half term in February. This last-minute change has, understandably, worried parents and employers.
The Chancellor has extended the extended furlough scheme which will now remain in force until 31 March 2021 and will be reviewed in January. Individuals on furlough, whether full-time furlough or flexible furlough receive 80% of wages capped at £2,500. The pay cap is proportionate to hours not worked so if you are absent four days out of five the cap is £2,000, three days out of five £1,500.
Rishi Sunak signed off the treasury direction to HMRC on 1 October 2020. Find out how to claim under the JRBS.
Rishi Sunak has just issued the summer statement and has outlined details of a job retention bonus scheme. Guidance is to be issued by 31 July, which I suspect means in practice 5.00 pm 31 July 2020. The requirements of the scheme seem to be quite simple.
1 July is the day that the Flexible Furlough Scheme starts. Those who have been on furlough and are going to remain on furlough do not require anything. Leave them alone. To those you are intending to potentially return to work under the Flexible Furlough Scheme either part time or increasing hours or flexible hours then there needs to be a Flexible Furlough Agreement issued and preferably signed.
The law requires you to look at means of avoiding redundancies before you proceed to them. It takes some time for the redundancy and notice costs to unwind and for wage savings to manifest themselves. Finally, when you lose staff you lose customer contacts and organisational knowledge. Is it worth it if you are potentially going to have to recruit in the foreseeable future thereby incurring recruitment and induction costs.
On 12 June 2020, HM Revenue and Customs published further updates to the official guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The updated guidance now includes details of how the scheme is to be wound down between July and October this year, as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 29 May.
There’s a strong possibility that the forthcoming launch of the Government’s Track and Trace system aligned with concerns over health and safety at work, as employees start to return, may lead to an increase in disputes between staff and employers.
Here below please find a summary of the Chancellor's recent notification (29th May) highlighting revisions to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) aka “Furlough”. From 1 July 2020, businesses will be given the flexibility to bring furloughed employees back part-time. Individual organisations will need to decide the hours and shift patterns their employees will work. The employers will be responsible for paying their wages while in work.
Read our factsheet article to get the lowdown on the Coronavirus Job Retention and Self-Employment Income Support Schemes.