The HMRC have published further guidance on The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme going forward and with this being a key topic we are asked about at the moment, with clients having to make retention plans at the moment we are sharing with you the latest on the one-off, £1000 payment that was announced by central Government.

What has been announced?

• HMRC has published further guidance about the Job Retention Bonus scheme. Under the scheme, employers will receive a one-off payment of £1,000 for every furloughed employee who remains continuously employed until 31 January 2021.
• Eligible employees must earn at least an average of £520 a month between 1 November 2020 and 31 January 2021.
• Employers can claim the Job Retention Bonus once they have filed PAYE for January 2021. The bonus will be paid from February 2021.
• The bonus will be taxable, so the business must include the whole amount as income when calculating their taxable profits for Corporation Tax or Self-Assessment.

Which employers can claim?

Employers will be able to claim the Job Retention Bonus for all employees who meet the following criteria:

• were furloughed and had a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claim submitted for them that meets all relevant eligibility criteria for the scheme
• have been continuously employed by the relevant employer from the time of the employer’s most recent claim for that employee until at least 31 January 2021
• have been paid an average of at least £520 a month between 1 November 2020 and 31 January 2021 (a total of at least £1,560 across the 3 months). The employee does not have to be paid £520 in each month, but must have received some earnings in each of the three calendar months that have been paid and reported to HMRC via Real Time Information (RTI) reporting system;
• have up to date RTI records for the period to the end of January
• are not serving a contractual or statutory notice period, that started before 1 February 2021, for the employer making a claim
• all Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims have been accurately submitted and any necessary amendments have been notified to HMRC.

More detail about this process will be published in guidance by the end of September 2020.

Additional Information

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/job-retention-bonus/job-retention-bonus