HM Treasury has issued a Treasury Direction under sections 71 and 76 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 to provide details on the Job Retention Bonus (“JRB”). Government has also produced guidance to help businesses determine who will be eligible for the bonus.
- The JRB is a £1,000 one-off taxable payment to employers for each eligible employee that an employer furloughed and kept continuously employed until 31 January 2021
- To be eligible, employees must not be serving a contractual or statutory notice (including serving notice of retirement)
- Employers will be able to claim the JRB between 15 February 2021 and 31 March 2021
- Employers do not have to pay the money to employees
- Employees must have been paid a salary of at least £1,560 between 6 November 2020 and 5 February 2021 (preventing employers from accessing a bonus for workers retained on the payroll and engaged on a zero-hour contract and paying them a small amount before 31 January 2021)
- The minimum income threshold (£1,560) must have been paid across the three-month period following the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) – 6 November 2020 to 5 February 2021 (“the 3-month relevant period”)
- Employers cannot claim the bonus for any employees that have not been paid using the CJRS, or for employees where the CJRS grant claimed has been repaid (regardless of why it was repaid)
- If an employer’s CJRS claim is still being checked by HMRC, the business can claim the JRB but payment may be delayed
- Employers will still be able to claim even if they are receiving support from the Job Support Scheme
- To claim the JRB for employees that have been transferred to a new employer through The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations (TUPE) or due to a change in ownership must have been furloughed and successfully claimed for under the CJRS by the new employer and meet all the relevant criteria for the JRB
Government have also published examples of employees who may be entitled to the JRB.
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