HMRC Announces Extension To Job Retention Scheme

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announces an extension to the ‘Coronavirus Job Extension Scheme’ (CJRS) payable under the scheme set out on 15th April 2020. The new extension covers the period from the 1st February 2021, ending on 30th April 2021. Without the extension, the scheme would have been running for over a year by its end date in April, which could have resulted in employers basing furlough payments for March and/or April 2021 on furlough payments made in March or April 2020. The introduction of this extension will help avoid situations where employees receive less pay this year as a result of being furloughed when the scheme began on 23 March 2020.

The CJRS will continue to operate as it has done since November 2020, and the government will not require employers to contribute to the furlough pay employees receive for hours they are not working. Employers need only pay the employer national insurance contributions and pension contributions for furlough hours. However, most hospitality employees have only been able to claim a small proportion of their normal earnings, because furlough doesn’t take TRONC into account, which can often make up a significant percentage of an employee’s earnings.