NABMA is grateful to its Business Advisor for the below information. The government’s Salary Subsidy Scheme opens to claimants today and below is an outline some of the key points.
“The government will pay 80% of the usual way of furloughed workers, up to a figure of £2,500 a month, plus the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on that subsidised wage. This will apply in instances where employees are furloughed at any point during the period from 1st March through to 30th June 2020.
The scheme applies in instances where employees would otherwise have been laid off during the current crisis. All UK businesses are eligible for the scheme, provided that 3 conditions are met:
- That the business has created and set up a PAYE scheme prior to 19th March 2020.
- The business must have a UK bank account into which the subsidy can be paid.
- The business must have enrolled for PAYE online.
Regarding the last of the above, if a business already has an online account for other taxes (such as VAT or Corporation Tax), this can be done by logging on to “HMRC Online Services” and finding the “Services you can add” section, and selecting the option for “PAYE for employers”.
If a business does not already have an online account, it would need to enroll as a new user. (A PAYE reference and an Accounts Office reference number will be required).
It should be borne in mind that unless there is an express agreement with the employee, any reduction in salary would represent a breach of contract. It follows that the employer and the employee must have agreed in writing that the employee will cease all work, and that agreement must state the start and end date of this suspension.”
You can check if you can claim here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme
And you can get guidance and an online calculator to calculate your claim here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme