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Extended furlough - can I bring back an employee?

4th November 2020

UPDATED FOR 5 NOVEMBER 2020 CHANGES REFLECTED BELOW

HMRC has confirmed that the extended furlough scheme allows an employer to re-employ an employee if they had been made redundant or stopped working 

The extension to March 2021 sees the government paying 80% of furloughed workers' wages for the hours they do not work, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

Employers only have to pay the employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and pension contributions.

HMRC has confirmed that employees that were employed and on the payroll on 23 September 2020 (the day before the Job Support Scheme announcement) who were made redundant or stopped working afterwards can be re-employed and claimed for.

The employer must have made an RTI submission to HMRC from 20 March 2020 to 23 September 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for those employees.

In addition, neither the employer nor employee needs to have previously used the CJRS.

Further details on eligibility are promised in due course.

HMRC is advising employers that they will be able to claim the CJRS grant either shortly before, during or after running their payroll.

HMRC's online claims portal will be temporarily closed whilst it updates its systems, having been given little notice of the Chancellor's last-minute announcement of the extended furlough scheme. Once back up and running, employers will be able to claim in arrears for the period that the portal was down.

Action points

Employers can check their records to see if any employees are eligible for the scheme, based on the above information. Points to note:

  • Agree working hours with employees, so employees know if they are furloughed fully or part-time during the period of the extension.
  • Keep records to support the CJRS grant claimed in case HMRC wish to check it.
  • Employers can view, print or download copies of their previously submitted claims by logging onto their CJRS service on GOV.UK.

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