UPDATE: 31 OCTOBER 2020
On Saturday 31 October 2020, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will enter into a second national lockdown with effect from Thursday 5 November 2020. In light of this, the introduction of the JSS has been suspended until at least the end of November 2020 and, in the meantime, the CJRS will continue, with employers only being required to pay NICs and employer pension contributions (which is a return to the lower level of employer contribution which applied in August 2020).
At the eleventh hour, on the last working day for many before the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme closes on 31 October 2020 and the Job Support Scheme (Open and Closed) takes effect on 1 November 2020, the government has published no fewer than 10 guidance documents to assist employers to apply for financial support for their employees’ wages under the Job Support Scheme.
The guidance comprises:
For most employers, the critical issue at this stage is checking eligibility for the Job Support Scheme. After that, working out how to calculate the claim will be the next step; there is no doubt that, on the face of it, this appears complex – however, there is, at least, a small grace period to get to grips with the various calculations guidance documents given that claims cannot be submitted on HMRC’s portal until 8 December 2020.