New Furlough Rules
The furloughing scheme changes from 1 July. No new employees can be furloughed after then, but people who have already been furloughed can be brought back to work on a part-time basis.
The employer will have to contribute to the cost:
- In August, they have to pay Employer’s NIC and pension contributions
- In September, they also have to pay 10% of the 80% furlough pay.
- In October, they have to pay 20%
The detailed rules are going to be announced on 12 June, but it looks as though employers will need to be careful about bringing people back part-time. A planning point is that only employees who have been on full-time furlough before 10 June will be eligible for part-time furlough from July, so to get full flexibility it may be worth rotating employees in and out of the workplace – especially with school holidays coming up.
Self Employed Income Support
The self-employed grants are to be repeated with a second 3-month grant, but this is only at 70% of average monthly wages instead of 80%. The two grants have exactly the same criteria, but need to be applied for separately. Applications for the first grant close on 13 July, and those for the second grant will open in August.
Despite a lot of pressure from various groups, nothing has been done to widen the scheme to cover taxpayers who miss out, such as new businesses and small companies.
Please contact us for further advice, or if we can help you with your claim.