Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Public Sector

(asked on 15th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to fee earner public sector employees who work under frozen PAYE contracts.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 18th June 2020

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) seeks to protect jobs and businesses across the economy, in both the private and public sectors. All employers with a PAYE scheme, including in the public sector, can apply for the CJRS directly through HMRC, subject to eligibility. In line with the rest of the economy, a public sector employer can only claim for employees that were on PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and which were notified to HMRC on a Real Time Information submission on or before 19 March 2020.

It should be noted that the CJRS will close to new entrants from 30 June. From this point onwards, employers will only be able to furlough employees that they have furloughed for a full three-week furlough period prior to 30 June.

Where organisations receive public funding for staff costs, and that funding continues uninterrupted, the Government expects employers to pay staff as usual and correspondingly not to furlough them. It may be appropriate for organisations that are not fully funded by public grants to furlough staff in certain circumstances, including when the organisation has experienced economic disruption due to COVID-19. Any claim through the CJRS should be proportionate to the reduction in revenue.

The Government continues to monitor developments and to engage with affected sectors, with the aim of ensuring that the support provided is right for these sectors and for the whole economy.

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