WFM UK: CJRS Updates – Fourth & HotSchedules Customer Success Portal

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Updates

On 14^th April 2021, The UK Government updated their guidance regarding Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The Guidance can be found here.

Guidance Updates

Reference Dates

A new section has been added to the guidance which refers to Reference Dates. A Reference Date is required for each employee to identify which calculation to use. See examples below.

An employee’s reference date is 19^th March 2020 if:

A payment was made to the employee in the 2019/2020 tax year and reported on an FPS on or before 19^th March 2020
A valid CJRS claim was made for the employee for a claim period ending on or before 31^st October 2020
The employee was on their previous employer’s payroll on 28^th February 2020 and was transferred to their current employer under TUPE arrangements

An employee’s reference date is 30^th October 2020 if:

The employee does not qualify under the 19^th March 2020 reference date rules
A payment was made to the employee which was reported on the FPS between 20^th March and 30^th October 2020
A valid CJRS claim was made for the employee between 1^st November 2020 and 30^th April 2021
The employee was on their previous employer’s payroll on 30^th October 2020 and was transferred to their current employer under TUPE arrangements after 31^st August 2020

An employee’s reference date is 2^nd March 2021 if:

The employee doesn’t qualify under the 19^th March or 30^th October 2020 reference date rules
A payment was made to the employee which was reported on an FPS between 31^st October 2020 and 2^nd March 2021

Please note: Employees with a 2^nd March 2021 reference date are not eligible for the CJRS before 1^st May 2021.

2nd March 2021 Reference Date

Usual Hours for Variable Hours employees

The Usual Hours calculation for an employee whose reference date is 2^nd March 2021 is based on the average number of hours worked from 6^th April 2020 (or the employee’s start date if later) up to and including the day before the employee’s first day spent on furlough (on or after 1^st May 2021).

Start with the number of hours actually worked (including holiday hours) between 6^th April 2020 (or employee’s start date if later) and the employee’s Furlough date (or 1^st May 2021 if earlier)
Divide total hours by the number of calendar days within this period
Similarly to the calculations for the other two reference dates, statutory leave days, such as parental leave or sick leave should not be calculated in the total number of days within the period
Multiply by the number of calendar days in the pay period
Round to the nearest whole number

Usual Hours for Employees on Fixed Pay

To calculate the number of usual hours for each pay period:

Start with the hours your employee was contracted for at the end of the last pay period ending on or before 2^nd March 2021
Divide this by the number of calendar days within the contracted hours period. For example, if the employee is contracted to 40 hours per week, divide 40 hours by 7 calendar days
Multiply by the number of calendar days in the pay period
Round to the nearest whole number

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