Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to offer a retention incentive to businesses who continue to employ furloughed workers following the withdrawal of the Job Retention Bonus.

The objective of the Job Retention Bonus (JRB) was to incentivise employers to retain employees between November, when the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was due to end, and the end of January through a £1,000 bonus paid to the employer. However, the subsequent extension of the CJRS to April (now September) allowed employers to retain their staff during that period by covering 80% of the furloughed employees’ wages. Given this further extension to the end of September, the policy intent of the JRB falls away.

The Government remains committed to redeploying a retention incentive at the appropriate time.