The Chancellor has announced the extension of the Coronavirus Job Support Scheme (CJRS) and Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) to last for 5 months.

The CJRS provides grants where employees are furloughed part-time or full-time:

  • The employees will receive 80% of normal wages for furloughed hours;
  • The Government will pay 80% of the normal wages for furloughed hours, capped at £2,500 per month;
  • The employer pays the pensions and Employers National Insurance for the furloughed time, and all of the wages costs for worked hours; and
  • The employer can top up the wages for furloughed hours voluntarily;
  • The scheme will be reviewed in January to decide whether the economic situation has improved enough to start asking employers for contributions – as they were in Sept and Oct this year;
  • Because of the extensions to the furlough scheme, the Job Retention Bonus will no longer be paid in January and a new retention initiative will be introduced at an appropriate time.

Full guidance on the CJRS is due to be published on Tuesday 10th November.

The next tranche of grants under the SEISS scheme has been increased from 55% to 80% of average monthly trading profits capped at £7,500 for the first grant.  This grant can be applied for at the end of the month.

We await further details on these schemes which do seem to be evolving daily at the moment. However, the commitment through to the end of March will provide businesses with the ability to plan for the next 5 months.

If you require guidance on any of these changes, please contact our HR team at hr@tc-group.com or your TC adviser on 0330 088 7111.