Following the budget last week, the Government have announced that Furlough will be extended beyond April until the end of September 2021, albeit the Government contributions are changing.

The contributions will stay as they currently are for May and June, however from July, employers will have to start contributing to their employee’s wages. Employees on furlough will still be entitled to receive up to 80% of their pay (subject to the £2,500 cap) for any hours they do not work, however with the employer contributing as follows:

From 1 May, employers will be able to claim furlough pay for employees who have been employed on or before 2 March 2021 as long as they have made a PAYE RTI submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 2 March 2021, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee. Employers do not need to have previously claimed furlough for an employee before 2 March 2021 to claim for periods starting on or after 1 May 2021.

Between now and May, employers will still only be able to claim for employees who were employed on or before 30 October 2020 providing a PAYE RTI submission was made between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee. Employers do not need to have previously claimed furlough for an employee before 30 October 2020 to claim for periods starting on or after 1 November 2020.

As a rough rule of thumb, it means that employees who started in November 2020, December 2020, January 2021 or February 2021 are likely to be eligible to be furloughed from 1 May onwards (as long as the PAYE RTI submission went in before 2 March 2021).

If you require any further information about this extension, please contact us by emailing enquiries@perspectivehr.co.uk or by phoning 01392 247436.