What’s it all about?
Some weeks ago, the Chancellor announced a Job Retention Bonus for businesses which brought employees back from furlough and retained them in employment until at least 31st January 2020; crucially the employee must not be on notice of termination on or before that date. If you want the full details you can find the Treasury Direction here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/923783/SIGNED_CJRS_DIRECTION_No_4__Coronavirus_Job_Retention_Scheme_Bonus__Final.pdf.
If you prefer not to wade through the full legalese, the government has produced a simpler guidance note available here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-can-claim-the-job-retention-bonus-from-15-february-2021
Who triggers the bonus?
There is also a useful set of examples of employees who trigger the bonus.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-an-example-of-employees-and-the-minimum-income-threshold-for-the-job-retention-bonus/example-of-employer-deciding-which-employees-will-meet-the-minimum-income-threshold-for-the-job-retention-bonus
The nuts and bolts
We were told the outline some weeks ago but here’s a summary which is broadly in line with what we were told then:
- the Job Retention Bonus is available to employers in respect of each employee who (a) has been on furlough at some point; and (b) remains employed, and not under notice, on 31 January 2021.
- HMRC will make a payment of £1,000 to the employer for each eligible employee. This is a bonus to the employer, and the employer does not have to pass it over to the employee.
- to receive the bonus, the employer must have paid a salary of at least £1,560 to the employee between 6 November 2020 and 5 February 2021 (this is to prevent the employer getting a bonus of £1,000 by keeping, say, a zero hours employee on the books and paying them a trivial amount before 31 January 2021).
- a claim for the bonus needs to be presented in a 6-week window between 15 February and 31 March 2021. The Treasury Direction does not specify how the claim is to be made, but further guidance is expected.
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