Furlough Changes

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended until 30 September 2021 and the level of grant available to employers under the scheme has changed…

From 1st July, there will be changes to the level of grant available for the CJRS (Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme), usually known as “furlough”. You will be asked to contribute towards the cost of your furloughed employees’ wages.

To be eligible for the grant you must continue to pay your furloughed employees 80% of their wages. There is a cap of £2,500 per month for the time they spend on furlough. The Government contribution will change over the next 3 months, however you can continue to choose to top up your employees’ wages above the 80% total and £2,500 cap for the hours not worked at your own expense.

To Clarify,

for July you must still pay at least 80% of wages to furloughed employees. However, the Government will only pay 70% – so you are making a more substantial contribution.
It doesn’t improve. In August and September, you must continue to pay at least 80% of wages but the Government’s contribution will reduce to 60%.

The cost of keeping employees on furlough will increase and we recommend that you examine your ongoing staffing requirements – and whether you can afford to pay your staff for not working, even though this will only be around 20% of usual costs.

We would be happy to look at this with you and help you appraise your business and project what is likely to be the situation over the coming months.
You want you to succeed and become more profitable. You especially want you to be around for the longer term. We can help you.

In the table above, you can see the level of Government contribution available in the coming months. It also shows the required employer contribution and the amount that the employee receives per month where the employee is furloughed 100% of the time. Wage caps are proportional to the hours not worked.

If you have any questions about the changes to the CJRS scheme, then please give us a call on 01509 816150 or contact us via the webform below.