Flexible furlough for eligible employees

The Government recently announced changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. One of these changes was the introduction of flexible furlough for eligible employees from the 1^st of‌‌ ‌July onwards.

From the 1^st of‌‌‌ ‌July, as an employer, you can claim a more flexible grant for any employee you have previously received a CJRS grant for, and who now returns to work on reduced hours. You can also continue to claim for employees who stay fully furloughed.

You can find guidance on eligibility and how to claim for flexibly furloughed employees by searching for ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’ on GOV‌‌‌.UK.

What you need to do next

claim for periods ending on or before the 30^th of‌‌‌ ‌June, by the 31^st of‌‌‌ ‌J‌ul‌y – this is the last date you can make those claims
agree the hours and shift patterns that you want your employees to work from the 1^st of‌‌‌ ‌July
pay your employees’ wages for the time they’re in work and apply for a job retention scheme grant to cover the remainder of their usual hours for which they are still furloughed
claim for further furlough periods as needed – the first time you will be able to make a claim for days in July will be the 1^st of‌‌‌ ‌July.

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

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.