Roll out plans for next stage of the furlough scheme

10 November: The extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was announced less than two weeks ago and details of how it will be implemented are beginning to emerge. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty provides an update.

On 5 November, the Chancellor announced that the CJRS would be extended until the end of March 2021 for all parts of the UK. Employers are now desperate to know the details as employees hope this will be enough to secure their jobs.

HMRC has circulated a short round-up explaining the impacts of this and where to find more information. The new and updated collection of advice notes can all be accessed from a single page: gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.

The policy paper which announced the change affecting all claim periods starting on or after 1 November 2020, is available from gov.uk.

HMRC intends to roll out the revised scheme as follows:

• The new calculator was published on 9 November and can be found at: tax.service.gov.uk/job-retention-scheme-calculator.
• Full guidance was published on GOV.UK on 10 November 2020.
• The claims portal will be live from 11 November 2020. The URL of the portal remains the same.

The Job Retention Bonus (JRB) will no longer be paid in February 2021, as CJRS will be still available at that time. An alternative retention incentive will be put in place at the appropriate time.

HMRC has been able to confirm that the claims portal process remains the same (subject to content reflecting November date ranges). Also, the content of the upload file stays the same with the 100-employee limit remaining in place for now.

Please note: this is a fast moving and fluid situation, so this information comes with the caveat that it could still be subject to change.