Confirmation that the CJRS will close to new entrants on 30 June 2020, and a second grant will be available under the SEISS, including for those who have not claimed before
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has provided more detail on the next steps for the Coronavirus Job Retentions Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
Following his COVID-19 press briefing on 29 May 2020 - about the future of the CJRS and SEISS - Mr Sunak has issued a written statement confirming further detail on the next steps.
In respect of the CJRS this includes that -
- from 1 July 2020, employers will have the flexibility to bring back their furloughed employees for any amount of time and any shift pattern, giving businesses more flexibility to respond to demand as the economy reopens;
- also from 1 July, there will be no minimum furlough period - however, any furlough arrangement agreed between employer and employee and reported in a claim to HMRC must still cover a period of at least one week;
- to enable the above changes, the CJRS will be closed to new entrants on 30 June - this means employees furloughed for the first time must be placed on furlough on or before Wednesday 10 June in order to access flexible furlough, so that the three week minimum period has been completed by 30 June;
- in August, employers will be asked to pay employer NI contributions and pension contributions;
- in September, employers will also pay 10 per cent of wages to make up the 80 per cent total, up to a cap of £2,500; and
- in October, employers’ contributions will increase to employer NI contributions and pension contributions and 20 per cent of wages, up to a cap of £2,500.
Regarding the SEISS, Mr Sunak confirmed that -
- eligible individuals whose businesses are adversely affected by coronavirus will be able to claim a second and final taxable grant;
- the scheme will reopen for applications in August to claim the grant worth 70 per cent of average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of profits, and capped at £6,570 in total; and
- an individual does not need to have claimed the first grant in order to be eligible for the second grant - for example, they may only have been adversely affected by coronavirus in the later phase.
NB - Mr Sunak added that further detailed guidance on both schemes will be published on 12 June.
Mr Sunak's written statement is available from parliament.uk
