UPDATE – Flexible Furlough Scheme from 1 July 2020
Prior to 1 July 2020 employees on furlough cannot undertake any work for you other than training. From 1 July you will:
- Only be able to claim for employees who have previously been on furlough for at least 3 consecutive weeks taking place any time between 1 March & 30 June.
- Be able to flexibly furlough employees – meaning you can bring your employees back to work for any amount of time and any work pattern
- Still be able to claim the furlough grant for the hours your flexibly furloughed employees do not work, compared to the hours they would normally have worked in that period.
Therefore, to qualify for inclusion within the scheme after 1 July 2020, the last day an employee could have started furlough for the first time was 10 June. The only exceptions to this rule are employees returning from statutory maternity, shared parental, adoption, paternity or parental bereavement leave. If they have been on statutory leave, if they return to work before 31 October 2020, they can be furloughed.
Important Dates:
From 1 August, the level of the grant will be slowly reduced. No grant will be available for Class 1 employer NICs or pension contributions from 1 August although these contributions will remain payable by the employer.
From September 1, you will also be asked to contribute towards the cost of your furloughed employees’ wages to ensure they continue to receive at least 80% of their wages for the time they’re on furlough.
You’ll still need to pay employer National Insurance and pension contributions on furloughed employees’ pay. For claims ending before 1 August 2020 you can claim for these costs too.
You cannot claim for:
- additional National Insurance or pension contributions you make because you choose to top up your employee’s wages
- your employees’ wages for any time they spend working, or any National Insurance or pension contributions you make on these wages
- any pension contributions you make that are above the mandatory employer contribution.
You can choose to top up your employees’ wages above the minimum furlough pay amount but you do not have to. Employees must not work or provide any services for the business during hours which they are recorded as being on furlough, even if they receive a top-up wage.
Record keeping requirements
Remember that any changes to the furlough agreement where an employee comes back to work part time, should be confirmed in writing (& kept for 5 years), the employee does not need to respond in writing.
Click here to find out more information on how the amount of grant available through CJRS is changing.
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