Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) Update

In the most recent announcements concerning CJRS, HMRC have announced two important updates;

1. The scheme will be extended to the end of April 2021 allowing final claims to be made for April 2021 by 14 May 2021 

2. The value of the CJRS benefit will remain at 80% of usual wages for the hours not worked

In addition, the announcements advised businesses of deadlines that would be enforced for claimants. These are simply the 14^th of the month following the month of claim; so 14^th January 2021 for December 2020 claims, 14^th February 2021 for January 2021 claims and so on.

HMRC state that these deadlines have been introduced to enable HMRC to assess claims and the impact of the CJRS.

HMRC also advise that by extending the CJRS until the end of April will give businesses certainty well ahead of the 45-day redundancy notice period required to terminate employees adding that the 2021 Spring Budget will set out the next phase of support more than 45 days before the new end date of the scheme.

Comment

There is little doubt that the Government is doing a considerable amount is attempting to preserve the commercial base of the UK economy. The fact that the scheme will operate through April 2021 and therefore for more than 12 months is most welcome.

Whether it is sufficient, and what remains of the wider economy, is yet to be seen.

If you need any further details please contact us at chris.cummings@ase-global.com.

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