Government extends the furlough scheme from 1 November as new lockdown rules start later this week

Over the weekend the Government announced that England would be entering a second period of lockdown due to begin on 5 November and end on 2 December. In order to support businesses and their staff across the UK during this time, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) would be extended from 1 November through to December.

The CJRS had been due to come to an end on 31 October, with the Job Support Scheme (JSS) starting on 1 November. The JSS has therefore been delayed until after the end of the extended CJRS.

In essence the CJRS scheme will operate as it did during August, with the Government paying 80% of furloughed employees wages up to a cap of £2,500. Both flexible and full-time furloughing will be permitted.

• The scheme will be in place from 1 November to December, with no end date yet published.
• Neither the employer nor the employee needs to have previously used the CJRS.
• Employers must have a UK bank account and UK PAYE schemes to claim. Large and small employers, charitable or non-profit are eligible.
• The scheme is available for employees who were on the employer’s PAYE payroll before midnight on 30 October 2020 and RTI payroll information submitted to HMRC before that date.
• Businesses will have flexibility to bring furloughed employees back to work on a part time basis or furlough them full-time.
• Employers will be able to agree any working arrangements with employees.
• The Government will pay 80% of employees' wages up to a cap of £2,500 for hours not worked with employers paying employer NICs and pension contributions. Employers must also pay the employee for hours worked in the normal way. They can choose to top up employee wages above the scheme grant at their own expense as before.
• Employers can claim the grant for the hours that their employees are not working, calculated by reference to their usual hours worked in a claim period. When claiming the CJRS grant for furloughed hours, employers need to report and claim for a minimum period of seven consecutive calendar days.

Further information

The Government has said it will issue further details and guidance shortly including when claims can first be made in respect of employee wage costs during November. It has stated that there will be no gap in eligibility for support between the previously announced end-date of CJRS and this extension.

Other support for businesses

Business premises forced to close in England are to receive grants worth up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant. Also, £1.1bn is being given to Local Authorities, distributed on the basis of £20 per head, for one-off payments to enable them to support businesses more broadly.