HMRC confirm that employees can be brought back for CJRS purposes
03 November 2020
In correspondence issued by Jim Harra, Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary today (3 November), confirmed that eligibility to the extended CJRS scheme will also be extended where an employer re-employees an employee if they were made redundant or stopped working for them providing that:
- The employee was on an employer’s payroll on 23 September 2020 and a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission, including them, was sent on or before this date
- Were made redundant or stopped working for them on or after 23 September 2020
Eligibility has also been confirmed, advising that employers can claim for employees who were on their PAYE payroll on 30 October 2020. Employers must have made a PAYE RTI submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee to qualify.
Neither the employer nor employee needs to have previously used the CJRS, with further details on eligibility promised to be imminent.
Employers are advised that they will be able to claim either shortly before, during or after running their payroll. There will be a short period initially when the online claims service will be closed whilst the system is updated therefore, employers will be able to claim in arrears for that period that they are unable to access the system.
As a reminder…
The extension to the scheme will see the UK Government paying 80% of wages for the hours furloughed employees do not work, up to a cap of £2,500 for periods from 1 November.
Employers will need to pay all employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and pension contributions. Employers can choose to top up their furloughed employees’ wages beyond the 80% paid by the UK Government for hours not worked, but they are not required to do so.
Employers will have flexibility to ask their employees to work on a part-time basis and furlough them for the rest of their usual working hours, or furlough them full-time. Employers will have to cover their wages for any hours they work as well as all employer NICs and employer pension contributions.
As before, a written confirmation of new employment agreement must be issued and kept
HMRC are asking that people do not call them requesting more information and that they will advise via email as soon as more information is available. In the meantime, employers are advised of the next steps to take in preparation to make their claims.
- Check which employees are eligible for the scheme, based on the information above.
- Agree working hours with employees, so employees know if they are furloughed fully or part-time during November.
- Keep all records that support the amount of CJRS grant claimed, in case HMRC need to check it. Employers can view, print or download copies of their previously submitted claims by logging onto their CJRS service on GOV.UK.
Information provided in this news article may be subject to change. Please make note of the date of publication to ensure that you are viewing up to date information.