Coronavirus Hub

The year began with a third lockdown and a stay-at-home instruction from the government. The following week has seen various COVID-related developments:

HMRC has clarified its position on employees being furloughed over the Christmas period.

Three days after publishing its guidance on the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), HMRC updated it to deal with notice. A Treasury Direction (TD) has also been published.

A new guide to interim relief has been included in our Knowledge section.

Major changes to employee’s support during COVID-19 have been announced by the Chancellor. The Job Support Scheme has been postponed and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) is being extended until March 2021.

Shielding has been reintroduced for those who are ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’.

It was the intention to have a new scheme - the Job Support Scheme - take over from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme when this was originally scheduled to end.

We consider the options open to employers for dealing with employees who’ve returned from countries not on the travel corridor scheme and who must self-isolate/quarantine for 14 days on return to the UK.

With the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to March 2021, the Job Retention Bonus (JRB) will not be paid in February 2021.

From 28 September 2020, people in England are required by law to self-isolate if they test positive or are contacted by NHS Test and Trace and employers must not allow them to attend work.