Job Retention Scheme Update - Furlough to continue until March 2021

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak announced this morning that the Government’s furlough scheme will be extended beyond the previous extension (2^nd December) and will now continue until 31^st March 2021.

The Chancellor stated that furloughed workers whose employers have been forced to close will continue to receive 80% of their salaries for hours not worked up to £2,500 per month until March.

The Government will review the policy in January and determine whether economic circumstances have improved sufficiently to ask employers to contribute more and enable the Government contribution to reduce, as was the case from 1^st August of last year.

As with previous announcements relating to support for employers, the detail will be announced in due course. It is expected that full guidance will be published on 10 November 2020. At the present time we can say that employers can claim under the scheme regardless of whether the employer or the relevant employees previously used the scheme.

The flexible furlough will be available to employers and, accordingly, employees can continue to do some work.

Employees can be furloughed (although there is no requirement to do so) if they are shielding in line with public health guidance (or need to stay at home with someone who is shielding).

Importantly, any employee who was employed and on the payroll on 23 September 2020 and was subsequently made redundant or stopped working for their employer after that date can be re-employed and a claim made under the scheme.

The other Government support schemes (the Job Support Scheme and the Job Retention Bonus) have been put on hold for now.

If you would like further information regarding the topics discussed in this blog, please contact:

Stuart Robertson by email: srobertson@gilsongray.co.uk or by phone: 07793 821 523 / 0141 433 7752

Graham Millar by email: gmillar@gilsongray.co.uk or by phone: 07841 920 102 / 0141 530 2023

You can also visit our Employment Law Team page by clicking here. 

The information and opinions contained in this blog are for information only. They are not intended to constitute advice and should not be relied upon or considered as a replacement for advice. Before acting on any of the information contained in this blog, please seek specific advice from Gilson Gray.