As discussed in our recent blog, Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced on 24th September the proposed follow-up arrangement to the Job Retention Scheme. At the time he expressed hope that the new arrangement would prevent the predicted flood of redundancy dismissals when the furlough scheme was closed.
In accordance with the practice which has been followed during the Covid-19 response, the detail of the new scheme is now being revealed.
The Government has issued guidance on the financial incentive for employers to make use of the Job Retention Bonus Scheme and retain employees.
In summary, the guidance is in line with what has been anticipated. The main points are as follows:-
- the Job Retention Bonus is available to employers in respect of each employee who (a) has been on furlough at some point; and (b) remains employed, and not under notice, on 31 January 2021.
- HMRC will make a payment of £1,000 to the employer for each eligible employee. The payment is a bonus to the employer, and the employer is not obliged to pass it on to the employee.
- in order to qualify for the bonus, the employer must have paid a salary of at least £1,560 to the employee between 6 November 2020 and 5 February 2021. This provision is intended to prevent the employer abusing the system by receiving a bonus of £1,000 for keeping an employee on a zero-hours contract during the qualifying period and paying a small amount to the employee.
- a claim for the bonus must be submitted in a 6-week window between 15 February and 31 March 2021. No guidance had yet been provided on the application process and we can expect clarification in due course.
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