Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, introduced the Job Retention Scheme to assist businesses and to protect employee’s wages during the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been made redundant during this crisis.
If you cannot cover staff costs due to COVID-19, as a business you may be able to access support to continue paying part your employees wage, to avoid redundancies.
To access the scheme, employers will need to discuss with their employees how to become classified as a furloughed worker. This would mean that they are kept on the employer’s payroll, rather than being made redundant.
To qualify for this scheme, the employee should not undertake work for the employer while they are furloughed. This will allow the employer to claim a grant of up to 80% of the employee’s wage for all employment costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.
They will remain employed while furloughed. The employer could choose to fund the differences between this payment and the employee’s salary, but does not have to.
It is likely that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will run for at least 3 months from 1 March 2020, but will be extended if necessary.
All UK businesses are eligible.
Businesses will need to:
HMRC will reimburse 80% of furloughed workers wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.
If your business needs short term cash flow support, you may be eligible for a coronavirus business interruption loan.
