COVID update: furlough extends until March 2021 and self-employment boost

Today [5th November 2020] saw the Chancellor announce that the re-introduced Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) would be extended until the end of March 2021, whilst also boosting the next three months of financial support for the self-employed.

In brief, the summary of the changes to the furlough scheme include:

  • Extending the furlough scheme until the end of March 2021 for all parts of the UK – the Government will review the scheme in January 2021 to determine whether economic conditions have improved and if employers must contribute more
  • Eligible employees will continue to receive 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month
  • Applications will open for claims on 11th November and claims for November must be submitted by 14th December, with all subsequent claims by the 14th of each month
  • Neither the employee or the employer needs to have previously been furloughed or made a claim under the CJRS to be eligible, however, they must have been employed and on the company’s PAYE payroll on 30th October
  • Any employees who were made redundant after 23rd September (the day before the Job Support Scheme was introduced) can be re-employed and furloughed under CJRS

SEISS

The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will also increase to 80% of trading profits for November to January for all parts of the UK, to provide support equivalent to that under the CJRS.

The calculation is based on 80% of three months’ average trading profits, which will be paid in a single instalment and is capped at £7,500.

More information can be found via the following link and as always, you can contact your Champion adviser for more information.