COVID-19: Treasury Direction and guidance on the CJRS updated to extend the scheme to 30 April 2021

On 25 January 2021, HM Treasury issued a second Treasury Direction under sections 71 and 76 of the Coronavirus Act 2020, extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”) to 30 April 2021 and setting out how the CJRS will operate between the dates of 1 February 2021 and 30 April 2021.

The existing CJRS directions continue to have effect but will be modified by the details set out in the Schedule to new direction.

The Schedule to the Direction amends the existing CJRS Directions to state that furlough pay in March and April 2021 should revert back to the same month in 2019, as opposed to March or April 2020, as this may involve periods where employees were already on furlough.

The deadline for submitting CJRS claims are as follows;

• 15 March 2021 in relation to February 2021
• 14 April 2021 in relation to March 2021
• 14 May 2021 in relation to April 2021

The deadlines for amending claims have also been extended to the following;

• 29 March 2021 in relation to February 2021
• 28 April 2021 in relation to March 2021
• 28 May 2021 in relation to April 2021

Various pieces of guidance on the HMRC Government website have also been updated to detail information about publishing the details of employers who have used the CJRS, how to request that HMRC does not publish details of CJRS claims and information about calculating claims under the CJRS.

See the new Treasury direction here.

See our news on the announcement of the CJRS extension to 30 April 2021 which was originally made by the Chancellor in December 2020.

Aspire Comment

The Treasury Direction is simply a formality to extend the CJRS until 30 April 2021 and with the third lockdown well underway, the CJRS is still a huge relief to many businesses who simply cannot bring employees back to work and have suffered tremendously over the extended periods of shutdown which the UK has seen. Nevertheless, as and when things slowly get back to normal, HMRC will be seeking to recover any money which has been incorrectly claimed through the CJRS and so it remains essential that individuals stay completely up to date with the ever-changing guidance and legislation. For full updates, see our COVID-19 page.

We are working with a number of clients with employment guidance, such as restructuring, redundancies, home working and absence policies.  Please get in touch with one of our advisors on 0121 445 6178 or email enquire@aspirepartnership.co.uk for a chat to see how we can support you and your business.