UK Covid-19: exemption from 10 June deadline for Job Retention Scheme for family leave returners

Tomorrow (10 June 2020) is the latest date an employer can put an employee on their first period of furlough if the employer wants to furlough that employee for all or part of their normal hours and claim a grant under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) after 30 June 2020.  This is because claims for periods after 30 June 2020 will only be possible from employers who have previously used the scheme in respect of employees they have previously furloughed for a 3 week period ending no later than 30 June, as announced on 29 May (see here).

In deciding whether they need to furlough any additional employees now, employers will also want to bear in mind that the total number of employees an employer will be able to claim for in any claim period post 30 June cannot exceed the maximum number they have claimed for under any previous claim under the current CJRS.

On 3 June 2020 Maternity Action wrote to the Chancellor pointing out that the 10 June deadline would exclude women currently on maternity leave, and other new parents or adopters on leave, who are not due to return to work until after 10 June but whose place of work may not be fully re-opened by the time their leave ends.  Maternity Action raised the concern that these employees will simply be made redundant if they cannot be furloughed.

This evening the Government confirmed that an exemption from the 10 June deadline will be made for "parents on statutory maternity and paternity leave who return to work in the coming months after a long period of absence", provided the employer has previously furloughed other employees. The announcement states that the same will apply to people on adoption leave, shared parental leave, and parental bereavement leave, and that more details of the change will be included in updated guidance to be published on 12 June.
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Employers should also note minor changes recently made to guidance on the CJRS specifying that, if employers make an error in a claim resulting in an over-claimed amount, they must pay this back to HMRC. This can now be declared in the next claim – the employer will be asked when making a claim whether it needs to adjust the amount down to take account of a previous error.  Records of the adjustment should be kept for six years. HMRC are working on a process that will allow an employer to inform HMRC and pay back any amounts over-claimed where the employer does not plan to submit any further claims;  guidance will be updated to note when this becomes available.  The guidance also now clarifies how the claim periods work when employees are furloughed at different times.