This information has been updated, please see our latest blog here.
The government have now published the initial guidance for the Job Retention Bonus.
The scheme will pay out a £1,000 one off taxable payment to the employer for each eligible employee that they had previously furloughed, made CJRS claims for and kept continuously employed from the end of the claim period for the last CJRS claim made for that employee until 31 January 2021. Those employees must meet the minimum income threshold, being paid a gross amount totalling at least £1,560 throughout the tax months
- 6 November to 5 December 2020
- 6 December 2020 to 5 January 2021
- 6 January to 5 February 2021
The employee must be paid at least one payment (of any amount) of taxable earnings in each of the above three months.
Unlike the CJRS, this payment does not need to be passed on to the employee.
Employees who were furloughed but were not included on a CJRS claim or where a claim was made but the grant was subsequently repaid for whatever reason, are not eligible. Employees who are serving a contractual or statutory notice period on 31 January 2021 are also not eligible.
The portal to make claims is expected to go live on 15 February 2021 with employers able to claim up until 31 March 2021. To make a claim, the employer must still be registered for PAYE online, have submitted all PAYE RTI returns on time and accurately and comply with any HMRC request into a past CJRS claim.
Further guidance is expected to be released before 31 January 2021.