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The government has announced various financial aid measures in recent days, designed to assist businesses whose operations are negatively impacted by coronavirus.
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The government has announced various financial aid measures in
recent days, designed to assist businesses whose operations are
negatively impacted by coronavirus. These include the Job Support
Scheme, the extended Job Support Scheme for businesses required to
close by lockdown restrictions, Job Retention Bonuses, a Kickstart
scheme and business grants. The different schemes can be difficult
to navigate, so we set out below an overview of the various
schemes, their eligibility criteria and links to further
information.
Overview of coronavirus business support schemes designed to
cover staff wages
Key dates
Scheme
What does it cover?
Until
31/10/2020
Flexible
Furlough
Leave
Workers can either be fully furloughed, or split their time
between 'furlough leave' and part-time work
The government will cover up to 60% of up to a maximum of
£2500 pay per month for any furloughed hours
The employer must pay:
Pay for any hours actually worked
20% of the cost of furloughed hours
Employer NICs (on worked and furloughed hours)
Minimum pension contributions (on worked and furloughed
hours)
From 01/11/2020
until 31/01/2021
Job Support
Scheme
All employers with a UK bank account and a UK PAYE scheme
registered on or before 23 September 2020 can claim the scheme.
The employer does not need to have claimed under the CJRS to
claim under the job support scheme.
There are two variations of the JSS depending on whether the
business has been required to close:
Businesses operating at reduced capacity:
Businesses
required to close:
Employees must work at least 33% of their usual hours (and the
employer must meet the cost of those working hours)
The employee will be paid 2/3rds of any non-worked hours. The
employer must pay 1/3rd, the government will pay 1/3rd and the
employee will be unpaid for the remaining 1/3rd
Taken together, this means that most employees will receive at
least 77% of their pay
The JSS contribution from the government will be capped at
£697.92 a month
The JSS grant will not cover employer's NICs or pension
contributions; these must be met by the employer
The Treasury's expectation is that employers will not be
permitted to top up their employees' wages for non-worked hours
above the 2/3rds
Large businesses (probably those with 250+ employees) will have
to demonstrate that their turnover is lower now than before the
pandemic (meet a financial assessment test) and the Treasury's
expectation is that they will not be making capital distributions
whilst accessing the
JSS grant
Open to businesses that, as a result of restrictions set by one
or more of the four governments in the UK, are legally required to
close their premises (includes premises restricted to delivery or
collection only services)
Businesses required to close due to specific workplace
outbreaks by local public health authorities are not eligible for
this scheme
Employers will only be able to use the scheme for employees who
cannot work (paid or unpaid) for at least 7 consecutive days
The JSS will pay 2/3rds of each employees' salary (or 67%)
subject to a maximum of £2,100 a month
The JSS grant will not cover employer's NICs or pension
contributions; these must be met by the employer
Employees cannot be made redundant or put on notice of
redundancy during the period within which their employer is
claiming the JSS grant for that employee
When premises are permitted to re-open, the employer can switch
to the regular JSS scheme (for businesses with reduced
capacity)
The JSS will be reviewed in January and may be amended from
01/02/2021.
This note has been produced for guidance only and is no
substitute for legal advice on your eligibility to claim. The
information contained in this note is correct as at 10am on
13/10/2020 based on the official guidance published by HM Treasury
(which is liable to change).
Glossary of terms
CJRS = Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
JSS = Job Support Scheme
NICs = National Insurance Contributions
Overview of coronavirus business support schemes
(non-wages)
Key dates
Scheme
What does it
cover?
Payable between
15/02/2021 and 31/03/2021
Job Retention
Bonus
An £1000 per eligible employee bonus aims to provide
additional support to employers who keep on their furloughed
employees in employment, after the furlough leave scheme ends on 31
October 2020
All employers are eligible for the scheme, including
recruitment agencies and umbrella companies
Employers must comply with their obligations to file/pay PAYE
accurately and on time under the RTI reporting system, maintain
enrolment for PAYE online and have a UK bank account
A £1000 JRB can be claimed for each 'eligible'
employee, including office holders, company directors and agency
workers, and those employed by umbrella companies
To be an 'eligible' employee, the individual:
Must have been furloughed under the CJRS (and the employee must
have been eligible to be furloughed)
Must earn at least £520 a month on average between the 1
November 2020 and 31 January 2021 (they must have had some earnings
in each of the three months, which amounts to a total of at least
£1,560 across the 3 months)
Must be continuously employed by the employer from the time of
the employer's most recent CJRS claim for that employee until
at least 31 January 2021
Cannot be serving a contractual or statutory notice period,
that started before 1 February 2021
Employers can still claim the JRB if they have made a claim for
that employee through the JSS. However, an employer who did not use
the CJRS, but has since used the JSS, will not be eligible for the
JRB
Employers cannot claim a JRB for any employee whose CJRS grant
has been repaid (regardless of the reason for repayment)
Special rules apply in certain situations e.g. TUPE (business
transfer), return from statutory parental leave, military
reservists returning to work after mobilisation
Employers will be able to claim the bonus after they have filed
PAYE for January 2021
The deadline to claim is 31/03/2021
Payments will be made to employers between 15/02/2021 and
31/03/2021
HMRC will withhold payment of the bonus where it believes there
is a risk that CJRS claims may have been fraudulently claimed or
inflated, until the enquiry is completed
Provides funding to create new 6 month job placements for 16 to
24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term
unemployment
Employers of all sizes can apply
Kickstart funding covers:
100% of the NMW (or the NLW depending on the age of the
participant) for 25 hours per week for a total of 6 months
Associated employer NICs and minimum auto-enrolment pension
contributions
The KS application must be for a minimum of 30 job placements;
if a single employer cannot provide this many job placements, they
can find an existing KS gateway
The KS job placements must not:
replace existing or planned vacancies
cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose
work or reduce their working hours
require more than basic training
The employer must help the young person become more employable:
looking for long-term work, including career advice and setting
goals
This note has been produced for guidance only and is no
substitute for legal advice on your eligibility to claim. The
information contained in this note is correct as at 10am on
13/10/2020 based on the official guidance published by HM Treasury
(which is liable to change).
Glossary of terms
CJRS = Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
HMRC = HM Revenue & Customs
JRB: Job Retention Bonus
JSS = Job Support Scheme
KS = Kickstart Scheme
NICs = National Insurance Contributions
NLW = National Living Wage
NMW = National Minimum Wage
PAYE: Pay As You Earn
RTI: Real Time Information
TUPE = Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)
Regulations 2006
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.