Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme guidance

New Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme guidance

HMRC have issued new Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme guidance. You can find this by searching for ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme guidance’ on GOV‌‌.UK.

What the new online guidance covers

The guidance includes how:

the scheme changes and key dates that you need to be aware of
to claim, and the information you’ll need to do so
you can claim if you bring previously furloughed employees back to work part-time from 1‌‌ July (known as flexible furloughing) and how many employees you can claim for in any one claim
to work out how much you can claim, including an online calculator to help you
to find more information on amending your claim.

Webinars offering more support on changes to the scheme and how they impact you are now available to book online – go to GOV‌‌‌.UK and search ‘help and support if your business is affected by coronavirus’.

What you need to do now

read the guidance to see how changes to the scheme impact you, using the calculator to understand how much you’ll be able to claim
consider which employees you want to keep on full-time furlough and which employees will come back to work – on what hours – to agree arrangements with them as needed for your business.

What you need to do from July

start your flexible furloughing of employees from 1‌‌ July onwards. You can decide the hours and shift patterns they work to suit the needs of your business – you’ll pay their wages for the time they’re in work and can apply for a job retention scheme grant to cover any of their usual hours they are still furloughed for. You can still keep employees on full furlough if you need to
claim for periods ending on or before 30‌‌ June, by 31‌‌ J‌ul‌y – this is the last date you can make those claims
claim for further furlough periods as needed – the first time you will be able to make a claim for days in July will be 1‌‌ July.

Protect yourself from scams

Stay vigilant about scams, which may mimic government messages as a way of appearing authentic and unthreatening. Don’t give out private information or reply to text messages, and don’t download attachments in emails you weren’t expecting. Search ‘scams’ on GOV‌.UK for information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact. You can also forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599.