CJRS and SEISS: further details of scheme extensions revealed

The government has released details of how the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will continue to work following the announcement that both schemes have been extended.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)

Earlier this month the government revealed that the CJRS - a temporary initiative that allows employers to access financial support to pay part of their employees' wages - would be extended to 31st March 2021. The following details about the extended scheme, which began on 1st November 2020, have now been confirmed:

• Under the extended scheme, employers will only be able to claim for employees who were included on at least one RTI submission made between 20th March 2020 and 30th October 2020. These employees must also have been paid wages between those dates in order for employers to claim for them under the extended CJRS.
• Employers will be able to make claims under the CJRS for any qualifying employee from 1st November 2020, regardless of whether they made any previous claim for the employee.

You can find more information about the CJRS on the government’s website.

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS)

In late October the government announced that the SEISS - a temporary initiative that aims to provide financial support to self-employed people whose businesses are affected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic - would be extended to include two additional grants that would cover the months of November 2020 to April 2021.

Earlier this month it was confirmed that the scope of the grant offered under the scheme in the months of November 2020, December 2020 and January 2021 would be expanded to allow qualifying business owners to claim for up to 80% of their business's average trading profits for these months, capped at a total of £7,500.

We now know the following additional details about how this particular SEISS grant will work:

• The grant will be available to qualifying businesses that are affected by coronavirus during the period of 1st November 2020 and 29th January 2021.
• Businesses can apply for this grant regardless of whether they applied for the first or second grants, as long as they were eligible for the earlier grants and that they meet all of this grant’s qualifying criteria.
• The claim portal for the grant will open on 30th November 2020.

You can find more information about the SEISS, including the qualifying criteria for the grant that's currently available, on the government’s website.

For the latest news about the coronavirus crisis and its impact on small businesses, take a look at our small business coronavirus hub.