The Government further updated its Guidance on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Job Retention scheme once again on 30 April 2020.
What are the changes?
Directors: there is new guidance that directors who are paid annually (which appears to cover directors receiving income as dividends) are eligible to claim as long as they meet relevant conditions including:
Being notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020, which relates to payment of earnings in the 19/20 tax year
Trade union or non-union representatives: the new guidance states that employees who are union or non-union representatives and on furlough leave may undertake duties and activities for the purpose of individual or collective representation of employees or other workers but in doing this must not provide services to or generate revenue for or on behalf of the employer or a linked organisation.
Monday 27th April 2020: Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer, told MPs that he was planning a gradual winding down of the Job Retention Scheme to avoid a surge in unemployment without giving too much away and on Friday 1st May 2020, it was announced that the Treasury is in talks with business groups to allow employers to claim support under the Job Retention Scheme for staff returning to work part-time, in order to facilitate a gradual reopening of the economy in the coming months.
So, there may well be further developments on the Retention Scheme regularly as we progress through May but the Scheme is still open until 30th June 2020 but employers are, of course able to recall their employees at any point depending upon their needs.
