Furloughed workers can now return part-time

Following the announcement in June, employers have eagerly been awaiting 1 July 2020 as this marks the official date for furloughed workers to begin returning thanks to eased restrictions.

If workers wish, they can now return part-time while still receiving financial aid from the Job Retention Scheme (JRS) for the hours not worked.

Updated Guidance

The government clarified a few key points on their Job Retention Scheme support page, stating that:

1) Employers can only claim for employees who have previously been furloughed for at least three consecutive weeks between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2020.

2) Employees being brought back part-time can work any amount of time, and any work patterns.

3) Claims can still be made for the hours furloughed employees don’t work, compared to the hours they would normally have worked.

What other changes are on the way?

As mentioned in the June announcement, from August employers will begin to pay ER NICs and pensions contributions.

Then from September onwards, the employers will also begin to pay a portion of the salary relief.

For more information on this, check out our blog that maps out the changes over the coming months.

Further guidance and support

As further guidance is issued, we’ll be sure to update you, in the meantime, check out our Next Normal hub that features all our latest content and support on adapting to the recent changes.

Also, IRIS Payroll customers can rest assured that we’re working hard to deliver functionality in our software making this process as simple as possible.