News in brief

Job Retention Bonus Scheme

On 2 October 2020, a fourth Treasury directive and HMRC guidance were published providing further details on the Job Retention Bonus (JRB).  Employers will be able to apply for the £1,000 JRB in respect of eligible employees between 15 February and 31 March 2021.  Employers will only be able to claim in respect of employees who:

• They previously furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
• Are continually employed between the date of the last CJRS claim made in respect of them until 31 January 2021.
• Earn a minimum of £1,560 in total during the three months between 6 November 2020 to 5 February 2021.

Employers may not claim in respect of employees who are on notice, either statutory or contractual, on 31 January 2021 (including notice of retirement), or who have TUPE transferred to them after 31 October 2020.

Redundancies

A Freedom of Information request response has revealed that British employers have planned a total of 498,000 redundancies during the first five months following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 150,000 reported between June and July 2020 and a further 58,000 reported in August 2020.  This represented an increase of 150% compared to the previous year.

Although the UK economy showed signs of recovery during the summer months, a recent survey by Acas revealed that a third of employers intend to make further redundancies in the upcoming three months.