Employment Law: Updates to the Furlough Scheme | June 2020
Since the end of March 2020, the Government have been providing regular updates to employers and the self-employed in relation to grants, funding and the furlough scheme.
This month’s Employment Law update is bringing you up to date with the all the latest news on the furlough scheme, as well as suggesting advice on what to do to support your businesses and clients in the current times, as HR practitioners.
Gov.UK are continuously updating the website with the current COVID-19 measures, providing information such as self-isolation for employees, social distancing and actions that businesses in individual sectors need to undertake to begin operations. Our first tip is, although you may have read website last week, please review the legislation again as you begin any new processes, as it is changing regularly!
On Friday 29th May 2020, the Chancellor (Rishi Sunak) issued further updates on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The headline points are:
- For employers: the last day which employees can be placed on furlough will be the 10th June 2020.
- From the 1st July 2020, the concept of “flexible furlough” will be introduced. This means employees will be able to work part-time and be furloughed part-time. In terms of the time-split, it will be up to businesses to decide.
- With effect from the 1st August 2020, employers will have to pay employee’s national insurance contributions and pension contributions. These will not be able to be reclaimed through CJRS.
- From the 1st September 2020, the Government will only reimburse 70% of salary (this is a maximum of £2,190) and employers will therefore be required to top-up to the 80%. If you, as an employer, are paying more to the employee this will need to be paid accordingly.
- With effect from the 1st October 2020, the Government will only reimburse 60% of a salary (up to a maximum of £1,875). Again, if an employer is paying more to the employee this would have to be topped up.
- The closing date for the furlough scheme will be 31st October 2020.
- The grant for the self-employed is being extended and applications will be opened in August, for the second and final grant and as with the furlough scheme, the amounts will be on a reducing basis.
A consideration for many businesses at present, is potential restructuring or redundancies. If you are having to consider this, please take time to refer to:
- Your organisations current processes
- Review ACAS best practice guidance
It is important that companies are seen to follow internal policies and procedures and, even at this time, it is essential you communicate and consult with staff and send out relevant documentation. It has been acknowledged that correspondence can be sent by email to employees - ensure that both parties confirm receipt of the email, it has been read and acknowledged for your business personal records.
In times like these, we understand that your business may be changing daily - here at cHRysos HR, trained HR practitioners are experienced when it comes to listening and helping businesses resolve issues in a pragmatic and commercially focused manner. If you have any HR issues and would like to talk them through with our team, please contact us.
Finally, we would like to wish you and your team well - stay safe, be prepared and all the best moving forward.
“Resilience is not what happens to you. It’s how you react to, respond to, and recover from what happens to you”
- Jeffrey Gitomer
cHRysos HR Solutions is a Doncaster based HR training and consultancy company providing CIPD and CMI accredited qualifications nationwide, as well as HR Consultancy to SMEs. For more information about how cHRysos HR can help you return to study and achieve further qualifications contact us on info@chrysos.org.uk or call +44 (0)1302 802128
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cHRysos HR Solutions are a UK wide HR training and consultancy company offering CIPD accredited qualifications, Apprenticeships, Training and HR Services to SMEs. For more information about how cHRysos HR can help you or your teams successfully achieve further qualifications, contact us on info@chrysos.org.uk or call 03300 562443.