Support for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

The UK’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will help organisations who have been severely affected by COVID-19. The Scheme is designed to help you retain your workforce during the current lockdown. It provides grant funding to support your payroll costs if you temporarily lay off (or furlough) members of staff. Do you need help to understand or administer the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme? Counterculture’s specialists provide a one-stop advice service who are ready to work with you to prepare and manage a fully compliant furlough process. Support for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is only a phone call away.

What is the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

The Scheme is a UK government grant funding programme. It will help meet your payroll costs during this period of lockdown if your organisation has been severely affected by the COVID-19 virus. Instead of making workers redundant, you can temporarily lay off employees and claim a proportion of their salary from the Government.

Any organisation with a PAYE payroll scheme on 28 February 2020 can apply. Charities, not for profit organisations and social enterprises are all eligible.

What does ‘furlough’ mean?

If you agree to lay off a member of staff on a temporary basis, that person has been furloughed. It’s pronounced ‘fur-low’.

Funded organisations

If you receive public funding for staff costs, then you must carefully consider whether you should continue to receive public funding for those employees if you intend to furlough them and claim under the Scheme. If you receive grant funding from other sources, you must carefully review your grant funding agreements, to avoid breaching the terms of your grant.

Who can be furloughed?

You can only claim for some employees under the Scheme. An employee must be furloughed for a minimum period, and may not work or volunteer for their employer whilst furloughed. You also need to consider the effect on those employees who will continue to work. We think that a process that combines HR, Employment Law and Governance will help you make the best, informed decisions.

What paperwork is required?

Each furloughed employee must receive a letter confirming the arrangements. An employee should receive a written record of variations to their employment contract in any event. HMRC may audit Scheme compliance after payment. So good record keeping is key.

Counterculture’s Furlough Scheme Service

We can offer you support for your Furlough Scheme:

  • Scheme guidance to reduce the risk of your claim being rejected
  • Business planning to decide who to furlough
  • HR processes to support your staff
  • Employment law advice on how to vary staff contracts
  • Preparation of a compliant furlough letter to affected employees
  • Accounting support to calculate furloughed salaries

We can offer a flexible support package on a fixed fee basis. We are working remotely using secure online tools to provide our services. All of our work is confidential, regulated and insured. The Portal should be ready for applications on 20th April 2020. The first payments are due to be made by the end of April 2020. Take action now to protect your cashflow. Book a slot to talk to one of our advisors.

Support for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Our fees to provide support for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme start at £100 plus VAT, but we’ll always agree a fixed fee with you before we start work. Chat with us to create the best package of support for your organisation. You can book a convenient slot using the calendar below. You can also send us an email, use our online chat function or give us a call. In the meantime, you can look at our other published guidance for more information.

Book a furlough support call

If you’d like us to make contact with you for a preliminary chat about this scheme – without any obligation and completely without charge, please let us know by completing the form below. We’ll keep your contact details secure and only use them for this call.

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