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(Partner Content) On Friday afternoon, in the government’s daily news briefing, the Chancellor outlined how the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will operate moving forward to allow for employees to return to work part time.
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Following that announcement, self-employed workers got a boost when it was revealed that they will be able to get government assistance for a further three months. The new details are outlined below.
No doubt due to recent lobbying by the press and other interested support groups, the Chancellor has extended the SEISS for a final three-month period to 31 August 2020.
This means that the self-employed who are eligible to claim will have received six months’ financial support from government.
As before, applicants will have to wait until the last month of the claim period, August 2020, to make a claim.
If you are eligible to make a claim for this second grant under the scheme you will still be subject to the same rules regarding eligibility. You will need to confirm that your business has been adversely affected by the recent pandemic.
If you did not claim for the first quarter, to May 2020, as your business at that time was not adversely affected, but will be affected in the quarter to 31 August 2020, it will be possible to claim for the second quarter.
And finally, claims for the first quarter (March-May 2020) will close 13 July 2020.
As previously announced, the CJRS has been extended to 31 October 2020 and will be changed to a flexible arrangement from 1 July 2020 to allow employees to resume part-time working.
The Chancellor and his advisers will be gritting their teeth as drawing a line in the sand by tapering and then closing the CJRS on 31 October 2020 will force the hand of employers to consider their options. It is likely that redundancies will start to climb from that date as will the number of the unemployed.
The above changes to a flexible approach cloak a raft of detail that government is not publishing until 12 June 2020. Those responsible for making CJRS claims will need to wait for these further clarifications as they will explain how employers should calculate claims.
We will be integrating the changes into our payroll services when they are available and will contact clients if further details regarding part-time working are to be introduced.
Clearly, there are planning considerations. Please call if you have employees on furlough and you need to consider your options; for part-time working up to 31 October and longer-term considerations after this date.
For more information or assistance, please contact Exceed.