What happens after CJRS ends?

It is with some relief that the latest government figures show that the number of people on furlough has fallen to its lowest level since the start of the pandemic. But, though the latest figures available are for July, meaning we will have had some movement since then, it is still worrisome that a total of 1.6 million people were still on furlough as of 31 July. And though this is a decrease of 340,000 on the June figures, that is still a huge number of people still furloughed, given that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) comes to an end on 30 September. 

As a reminder, for claim periods from 1 August 2021, the government will pay 60% of wages up to a maximum cap of £1,875 for the hours the employee is on furlough, with employers paying 20% until the scheme ends.  Final claims for September must be submitted by Thursday‌‌ ‌14‌‌ ‌October.

What impact this will have on the economy and those businesses who are still furloughing their staff remains to be seen.

What happens after the CJRS ends?

If employers still have some or all of their staff on furlough at 30 September they have decisions to make. They can either:

• Bring their employees back to work on their agreed terms and conditions
• Agree any changes to their terms and conditions with them, or
• Consider ending their employment.

When making decisions about how and when to end furlough arrangements, equality and discrimination laws will apply in the usual way. For more information see ‘Job Retention Scheme‘.

Normal redundancy rules and protections apply to furloughed employees, and employers cannot claim CJRS grants for any days an employee is serving a contractual or statutory notice period, including notice of retirement, resignation or redundancy.

If an employer has workers that it is unable to bring back to work and must make the difficult decision to end their employment, there is government support available for employees through the JobHelp website, offering a range of support, training and advice to help people find their next opportunity. This includes the Kickstart scheme and other Plan for Jobs support measures, along with advice on learning new skills and sectors which are recruiting.

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