Yahoo News The Government's 80 per cent wages scheme: Here's how to claim
The Government will pay 80 per cent of wages for employees not working because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Chancellor announced last month.
Rishi Sunak said the Government would make payments of up to £2,500 a month in a scheme with unlimited funding.
Here, we take a look at how the scheme works.
What is the scheme?
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is a temporary scheme open to all UK employers, designed to support employers whose operations have been severely affected by coronavirus.
Employees who would otherwise have been made redundant due to financial difficulties can stay on their company’s payroll as a "furloughed worker".
Once it opens at the end of April, employers will be able use a portal to claim for 80 per cent of furloughed employees’ usual monthly wage, up to £2,500 a month, plus the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on that wage.
Who is eligible?
The scheme is open to all UK employers, including businesses, charities and public authorities, that had furloughed employees on a PAYE payroll scheme by February 28.
Furloughed employees can be on any type of contract, including:
Full-time employees
Part-time employees
Employees on agency contracts
Employees on flexible or zero-hour contracts
The scheme also covers employees who have been made redundant since February 28, if they are rehired by their employer.
Importantly, to be eligible, an employee can't carry out any work for their organisation while on furlough.
If an employee is working, but on reduced hours, or for reduced pay, they will not be eligible for this scheme and the employer will have to continue paying the employee through the payroll.
People hired by a company after February 28 cannot be furloughed or claimed for.
Employees on unpaid leave cannot be furloughed, unless they were placed on unpaid leave after February 28.
How can I claim?
Employers will make the claim through a Government portal and will receive a grant from HMRC to cover furloughed employees' wages.
The online service is not available yet, but should be up and running by the end of April and claims can be backdated to March 1.
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