The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS or 'furlough leave') was due to end on 31 October 2020, and be replaced with a new Job Support Scheme. However, when the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced the need for a second national lockdown on 31 October 2020, he confirmed that the furlough leave scheme will be extended until December.

The key features of the newly extended furlough leave scheme are:

  • The extended furlough leave scheme will be open to new entrants (meaning the employer need not have claimed under the CJRS previously, and the employee need not have previously been furloughed)
  • Eligible employees can be placed on furlough leave instead of being dismissed or laid off (it is not yet clear if they will be able to be serving notice of termination during the claim period)
  • A furloughed employee cannot be required to perform any work for their employer, directly or indirectly, during any non-worked hours (for which the CJRS grant is claimed), but they are able to undertake training
  • The extended furlough leave scheme will operate as a hybrid between the original furlough leave scheme and the flexible furlough leave scheme, so the employee can have a mix of non-worked and worked hours:
    • The government will fund a maximum of 80% of pay for non-worked hours subject to a £2500 pcm cap (it is not yet clear if the government will meet the costs of the employer's national insurance contributions (NICs) and minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on any furloughed hours, or whether the employer must fund these costs)
    • Employees will be able to work part of their usual hours, with the employer paying for those worked hours in the usual way (and for the employer's NICs and minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on those worked hours)
  • To be eligible to be placed on extended furlough leave, the employee must be on an employer's PAYE payroll by 23:59 on 30 October 2020 (a Real Time Information submission notifying payment for that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 30 October 2020)
  • To claim the CJRS grant for furloughed hours, the employer will need to report and claim for a minimum period of seven consecutive calendar days. Employers will need to report hours worked and the usual hours an employee would be expected to work in a claim period
  • The employee will continue to accrue continuous service/annual leave. Employees can take annual leave during furlough leave, but the employer must 'top-up' their wage during any leave

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