New Details Announced for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

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The UK Government has published more details about the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, giving even more reassurance to those whose jobs have been affected by Coronavirus.

The great news for businesses is that the scheme seems straightforward and there is no need for additional features to be added to Youmanage for your HR system to process furloughed employees.

This means that you can confidently furlough workers and be sure that Youmanage will be able to deal with the changes, without having to wait for software updates.

The Government has recently announced that organisations that furlough staff during the COVID-19 crisis will receive even further financial support, with the costs of employer national insurance and pension contributions being paid for by the Government.

This new measure could save businesses an additional £300 per month for each furloughed employee.

The Government has also confirmed that employees who were laid off after 28th February can be re-employed by their most recent employer and be placed on furlough.

And, in order to boost the number of NHS volunteers, furloughed workers will be able to sign up to help the NHS during the pandemic without risking their pay.

What is the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme?

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is where the UK Government will pay up to 80% of wages for employees who would otherwise be made redundant because of the effects of COVID-19, capped at £2,500 per staff member per month. This allows businesses to retain staff and avoid people being permanently laid-off.

In order to for employers to claim this, they must designate workers as ‘furloughed’.

‘Furlough’ is not a term which currently has a legal meaning within employment law. However, it is now being used to describe staff who remain under contract and on payroll but are unable to work because the employer does not have work for them to do as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

You can find out more on the UK Government’s website.

How can Youmanage help you process furloughed employees?

Youmanage gives you various tools to deal with furloughed workers. If you wish to highlight furloughed employees, you can create a new employee status and assign it to the relevant employees. As furloughed workers are to receive 80% of their wages, you may also wish to update their salary against their record, with the relevant associated reason. Once added, you can also update the affected employee’s salary record.

If you would like access to some advice on how to process furloughed employees in Youmanage, then please get in touch with us. We’re always here to help during these difficult times.