Furlough continues: What next?

Following the government's announcement that England will enter a period of renewed lockdown from 5 November 2020, employers will welcome HM Treasury's announcement that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ("CJRS"), known as the furlough scheme, will continue until December 2020 rather than ending on 31 October 2020 - and on slightly more generous terms than those that were previously on offer (as detailed, below). This means that the Job Support Scheme ("JSS"), which was due to apply from 1 November 2020 and which many employers have planned for (in accordance with our various alerts here and here), will be postponed until the extended CJRS period ends. 

We are awaiting further government guidance on the finer details of the CJRS and how/when businesses can claim the November wage grants. In the meantime, employers are advised to act quickly to agree any necessary changes to work and pay arrangements with employees to reflect any new or continued furlough arrangements; and to consider how the extension to the CJRS may impact any potential redundancies or other staffing decisions.

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