Latest update on CJRS: notice periods no longer covered by furlough

Following their full guidance on the extended CJRS released on 10 November, HMRC has issued a couple more updates towards the end of last week, clarifying what employers can and cannot claim for when it comes to redundant employees from the period starting 1 December:

“Where you must make redundancies, you should do so in accordance with the normal rules. This includes giving a notice period and consulting staff before a final decision is reached. For claim periods relating to November, you can continue to claim for a furloughed employee who is serving a statutory notice period, however grants cannot be used to substitute redundancy payments.

For claim periods starting on or after 1 December 2020, you cannot claim for any days on or after 1 December 2020 during which the furloughed employee was serving a contractual or statutory notice period for the employer (this includes people serving notice of retirement or resignation). If an employee subsequently starts a contractual or statutory notice period on a day covered by a previously submitted claim, you will need to make an adjustment.

If you made employees redundant, or they stopped working for you on or after 23 September 2020 you can re-employ them and put them on furlough. This applies as long as the employee was employed by you on September 23 and you made a PAYE RTI submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee.”

The gist of this update is that notice periods will no longer be covered by the furlough scheme from 1 December, including contractual notice, resignation notice, statutory notice or retirement notice. This reflects HMRC’s view that furlough grants from the government should be used to aid job retention and not job losses. Hence, any expenses incurred as a result of redundancy must be covered by employers.

If you have any questions about the guidance above, please do get in touch with your usual contact at DTE, or email us at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.