HMRC has issued additional guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Bonus Scheme (JRBS), further clarifying details on eligibility.
The JRBS is a £1,000 one-off taxable payment to employers for each eligible employee they furlough and keep continuously employed until 31st January 2021. To qualify for the scheme, employers must meet the criteria throughout the period beginning 6th November and ending on 5th February 2021.
The key elements of the JRBS are:
- Qualification includes full-time and part-time employees, officeholders, company directors and agency workers;
- The qualifying employee needs to have been paid in each of the three tax months ending 5th February 2021, and their earnings reported to HMRC via Real Time Information;
- The employee must have total taxable earning for that period of at least £1,560;
- The employee must have been the subject of a furlough claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and continuously employed by the employer from the most recent furlough claim through to at least 31st January 2021;
- Does not exclude employers who have also made claims under the Coronavirus Job Support Scheme;
- The employee cannot be serving a contractual or statutory notice period that has commenced before 1st February 2021.
The scheme is aimed at encouraging employers to retain employees who have returned from furlough and to contribute towards the costs of retaining those employees.
If you would like to understand whether you might qualify for this bonus, then please contact your TC adviser on 0330 088 7111 or our HR team at hr@tc-group.com.