Baxter&Co - 2021 Spring Business Support Guide

1 SPRING NEWS Coronavirus support measures Furloughing extended again The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for furloughed workers has been extended until 30 September 2021. Currently, the worker must receive a minimum of 80% of ‘normal’ pay for their furloughed hours and this will continue through to September. Until 30 June 2021, the position of the employer will be unchanged, namely: They can claim a CJRS grant to cover 80% of normal pay; but They must pay the employer National Insurance Contributions (NIC) plus minimum auto enrolment pension contributions on the salary actually paid to the worker, with no grant to cover these amounts. From July, the cost of furloughing the worker will increase, as the grant will only cover 70% of normal pay, reducing to 60% for August and September. An employee must not work for the company at all during the hours for which they are furloughed, but this can be as many or as few hours a week as are agreed between the worker and employer. An exception is a furloughed director, who is allowed to carry out any statutory work related to their directorship (e.g. preparation of accounts). The eligibility for the scheme is being amended from 1 May 2021 to include employees who were employed on 2 March 2021, as long as a payment of earnings was reported through RTI between 31 October 2020 and 2 March 2021. There are three possible reference dates for determining furlough pay, which depend on when the employee first had earnings reported on a Full Payment Statement (FPS) through Real-Time Information (RTI). Grant claim deadlines will continue to be 14 days after the month-end although, as currently, most employers will want to make the claims in advance of payrolls being run. Self-employed grants There are to be two further grants available under the Self-employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), both based on three months’ worth of previously reported profits. 2021 • • Please contact Christopher Jones, Andrew Meredith or Mark Wildi for more information; on 01689 877081 or complete ou r online form .