26 June 2020

Flexible Furlough circular email 26th June 2020

The Direction governing the amendments to the Furlough scheme has been published on 25th June. The complications of the new scheme are highlighted by the guidance running to 34 pages compared with 17 pages for the previous version of the rules so this is an overview.

From 1 July you will be able to flexibly furlough i.e. bring your employees back to work for any amount of time and claim the grant for the hours employees do not work, compared to the hours they would normally have worked in that period. Note this only applies to employees on furlough at 10th June, no new employees can be admitted after that date.

It has always been necessary to confirm with employees in writing that they have been furloughed and if you
adopt flexible furlough you will require a new written agreement confirming the new arrangement. Not surprisingly you must keep records of the hours worked and not.

You can continue to fully furlough employees if you wish.

Using minimum furlough periods

Until 1 July, a furlough period must be for a minimum of 3 consecutive weeks however after that date agreed flexible furlough agreements can last any amount of time and you can enter into a flexible furlough agreement more than once (i.e. bring back to full-time working for a period then return to flexible).

After 1 July, employers cannot make claims that cross calendar months, so a separate claim is required to 30 June, then to 31st July etc...

Although flexible furlough agreements can last any amount of time, the minimum claim period is for seven calendar days.

If you find you have overclaimed HMRC say all you need to do is tell us when you next claim so you can pay it back. You will be asked when making your claim whether you need to adjust the amount to take account of a previous error. Your new claim amount will be reduced to reflect this. You do not need to take any other action but should keep a record of this adjustment for six years. If you have made an error in a previous claim but do not plan to submit further claims, you need to contact us so we can tell you how to repay the money.

This table provided by the government provides a useful summary of how the claims change in future months.

Stewart Associates Shrewsbury Ltd
Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors

In Association with Independent Auditors LLP and Contractor Taxation Services Ltd

Emstrey House North, Shrewsbury Business Park, Shrewsbury, SY2

Tel: 01743 235236
Company No: 06772535