Job Retention Bonus Guidance

In his Summer Statement, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a new £1,000 Job Retention Bonus for employers who bring back furloughed staff – if they remain continuously employed to the end of January 2021.

The bonus is set to support millions of employers who have kept on furloughed workers. It will work alongside the newly announced Job Support Scheme and could be worth more than 60% of average wages of workers who have been furloughed and are kept on until the start of February 2021.

New guidelines and when to claim

You will be able to claim it between February 15, 2021 and March 31, 2021.

The £1000 Job Retention Bonus is equal to a 20% wage subsidy for the employment costs of the average person previously furloughed, but for those on lower incomes, it equates to 40% of wage costs over the three-month period to the end of January 2021.

Employees you can claim for

You can claim for employees that:

  • You made an eligible claim for under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
  • You kept continuously employed from the end of the claim period of your last Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claim for them, until January 31, 2021
  • Are not serving a contractual or statutory notice period for you on January 31, 2021(this includes people serving notice of retirement)
  • You paid enough an amount in each relevant tax month and enough to meet the Job Retention Bonus minimum income threshold
  • If HMRC are still checking your Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims, you can still claim the Job Retention Bonus but your payment may be delayed until those checks are completed

HMRC will not pay the bonus if you made an incorrect Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claim and your employee was not eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

To be eligible for the bonus you must make sure that your employees have been paid at least the minimum income threshold, therefore, you must pay your employee a total of at least £1,560 (gross) throughout each of the tax months from November 6 to February 5.

For further updates including steps businesses need to take before claiming the bonus, further threshold criteria and claiming for an individual who is not an employee, check out our new Job Retention Bonus article here in the business section of our App.