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Free webinar on the reinvented furlough scheme

11 November: Navigate the latest version of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme with a free webinar from the Tax Faculty team on 19 November at 12:00.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is being extended until 31 March 2021 and the government’s contribution to wage costs for furloughed hours will once again be 80%, subject to the maximum of £2,500, as before.

ICAEW Tax Faculty and our specialist volunteers have begun to explore the new rules and have made some unexpected discoveries.

Book now to attend a free webinar from 12:00 to 13:00 on Thursday 19 November 2020 for practical advice and guidance, with a focus on how to claim and the calculations.

Kate Upcraft, expert in tax and payroll will be presenting and Anita Monteith from ICAEW will be moderating the webinar.

This webinar is free to all ICAEW members and all Tax Faculty members and subscribers.

Of immediate concern to employers, is be that going forward, there will be less time to make the calculations and submit grant claims. Each claim must be made within two weeks of the month end. So any claims for November grants must be submitted by 14 December 2020.

The guidance published on 10 November makes it clear that more employees will be eligible for CJRS support and care must be taken when establishing the correct values for reference pay.

If you’ve already claimed for an employee who was on furlough during October, and they are paid a fixed salary, you will follow the same usual wage calculation for claim periods starting after 31 October 2020; the value will be historic and date back to when the scheme was first introduced, regardless of any recent pay rises.

For other employees being furloughed now for the first time, the employee’s reference period will be their last pay period ending on or before 30 October 2020. This may give some unexpected results.

And don’t forget, 30 November 2020 is the last day employers can submit or change claims for periods ending on or before 31 October 2020.