Job Retention Bonus

Job Retention Bonus

The Job Retention Bonus was announced at the end of July, full guidance has just been published.

The bonus is a one-off £1,000 payment for every employee who was furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and remains employed continuously until 31 January 2021. It can also be claimed for office holders or agency workers who were furloughed.

The employee cannot be serving their notice of termination on 31 January 2021. This is not just notice of redundancy, but notice that has been given for any reason.

Employees must earn a total of £1,560 before tax during the tax months:

• 6 November-5 December 2020
• 6 December 2020-5 January 2021, and
• 6 January-5 February 2021

These earnings don’t have to be any particular minimum each month, there simply has to be a payment of taxable earnings made in each tax month.

The payment is made to the employer and there is no obligation to pass it on to the employee.

You will be able to claim for the bonus online, but not until 15 February 2021. The deadline for claiming is 31 March 2021.