UK: 15 April update to CJRS Guidance changes qualification date for furlough

HMRC has today published a fourth update to its guidance for employers on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Claims under the scheme will now be possible in respect of employees who were employed and on the employer's payroll on or before 19 March 2020 (just before details of the scheme were announced), rather than 28 February.  The guidance now clarifies that being on payroll for these purposes means that an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of the employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 19 March 2020.  Employees who were notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 28 February, but who were made redundant or stopped working for the employer after that date and before 19 March, can also be covered by the scheme if they are re-employed after 19 March and put on furlough.

Other changes to note:

• The reference date for salary to be reclaimed for salaried employees is now the last pay period before 19 March 2020, rather than 28 February.  If the 28 February salary was different, the employer can use the 28 February figure for its first claim under the scheme.
• The previous iteration of the guidance stated that employees on unpaid leave could only be claimed for if the unpaid leave started after 28 February 2020.  The latest version clarifies that these employees can only be claimed for if formally put on furlough.  It also adds that those who started unpaid leave on or before 28 February can be furloughed only from the date on which it was agreed they would return from unpaid leave.
• The information required to make a claim has been amended.  Provision of the payroll/employee number for furloughed employees is now optional.  Employers with fewer than 100 furloughed employees will need to enter details of each employee directly into the system;  those with 100 or more furloughed employees will need to upload a file (.xls, .xlsx, .csv or .ods) with the information.
• The employer guidance now mirrors the provision added to the previous version of the employee guidance, that if an employee has had multiple employers over the past year and only worked for one at a time, and is being furloughed by their current employer, none of the former employers should re-hire, furlough and claim for them under the scheme.

The changes still do not include any text setting out HMRC's position on the interaction between holiday and furlough.