Deadline for working arrangements under the extended CJRS approaching
11 November 2020
Due to the fact that announcements relating to the extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), meaning that it will now close on 31 March 2021, as opposed to 31 October 2020, were made with minimal time for employers to act upon, employers will have until 13 November 2020 to put retrospective working arrangements in place that took effect from 1 November 2020.
It has been confirmed that, in order to qualify for the extension to the CJRS, employers must discuss being furloughed or flexibly furloughed with their employees and make any relevant changes to their contract by agreement. In establishing who to place on furlough, employment, equality, and discrimination laws apply. Employers must have confirmed with their employees (or reached collective agreement with a trade union) in writing that they have been either fully or flexibly furloughed.
A written record of the agreement must be retained for a minimum of five years, along with records of how many hours an employee has worked for, and how many hours they have been furloughed for, but these must be kept for a minimum of six years. There is no requirement for employees to provide a written response to the written record of the agreement.
Retrospective agreements relating to arrangements that took effect from 1 November 2020 will only be valid if made on or before 13 November 2020.
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication. For all the latest information, news and resources on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting payroll professions, visit our Coronavirus hub.