Update for churches as employers

New furlough scheme rules and removal of retention bonus

4 December 2020

Summary

In the last few weeks we have seen three different versions of the job retention (furlough) scheme or its proposed replacement, the job support scheme. The government has settled on an extension of the furlough scheme, but the new arrangements are slightly different from the scheme used earlier in the year.

• If you meet the criteria, you can use either full furlough or flexible furlough for staff between the start of November and the end of March 2021, including staff who have  not been on furlough earlier in the year.
• This includes an option to re-engage and furlough staff made redundant on or after 23 September 2020
• Claim dates have changed – you must make your grant claim within 14 days of the end of the month you are claiming for – for November 2020 the last date to claim is 14 December 2020
• The proposed job retention bonus of £1,000 per furloughed employee in January 2021 has been removed
• The job support scheme has been postponed for the time being.