Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Furlough) Changes Effective 1st July 2021

As announced in the Budget today, from 1 July 2021, the level of the Coronavirus furlough grant will be reduced.

From the 1st July 2021 you will be asked to contribute towards the cost of your furloughed employees’ wages. Furloughed employees will receive 80% of their wages, up to a cap of £2,500 per month, for the time they spend on furlough.

The table below shows the level of government contribution available in the coming months, the required employer contribution and the amount that the employee receives per month where the employee is furloughed 100% of the time.

Wage caps are proportional to the hours not worked.

You can continue to choose to top up your employees’ wages above the 80% total and £2,500 cap for the hours not worked at your own expense.

CJRS eligibility from May

For periods from 1‌‌ ‌May 2021 onwards, you will be able to claim for eligible employees who were employed by you and on your PAYE payroll on 2 March 2021. This means you must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 2 March 2021, notifying HMRC of earnings for that employee.

You and your employees do not need to have benefitted from the scheme before, to make a claim, as long as the eligibility criteria is met.

For actionable advice on dealing with changes these changes please contact us.