U.K. Announces Further Revisions to the Job Support Scheme
Following the release A&M Taxand Shares Updates to the U.K. Job Retention Scheme, the treasury issued The Job Support Scheme (JSS) policy paper.
The policy paper outlines the support for JSS Open and JSS Closed, both of which are available to employers, but employees can only be covered by one or the other, not both.
Employers with more than 250 employees will need to complete a financial impact test, so let us know if you need assistance with this.
At 3.2 the guidance clarifies the test for large employers, and that dividends or share buy-backs are not encouraged, but no statutory basis will be introduced, so this becomes an interesting moral position, and one which risk and remuneration committees may need to opine before action is taken by the employer.
Guidance will be provided on what to include in agreements with employees, by the end of October so whilst there is much to do in a short space of time, employers may need to pre-empt what that guidance may require.
Further guidance is also still due on the JSS Closed scheme.
Claims can be made, in arrears, from 8 December 2020 via the online portal, and net pay to staff, along with a commitment to pay PAYE, Employee, and employer NIC on their normal due dates are required. If you have entered into Time To Pay arrangements, these will need to be met in addition to the ongoing PAYE remittances required.
There are some complex rules on average “normal pay” which mirror to a certain extent the CJRS rules, Still, over an extended period, companies will likely need to rework the hourly rate from those used for CJRS, so a heavy additional burden for employers before being able to calculate and pay the amounts due. Tricky for 4 weekly payrolls in particular, who as a result of payment cycles are now due to be paid earlier in November.
How can A&M Taxand help?
At A&M Taxand we can assist with board policy papers, assist with the financial impact test paperwork and the impact of the JSS changes, provide wider support to businesses on managing cashflow and restructuring services, along with advice and support.
Please contact your A&M point of contact, or Louise Jenkins or Tracey Norton from our Reward & Employment Tax Solutions team, should you require any assistance with the points raised above.
