On 31 October 2020 the government announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme would be extended for a further month until the end of November 2020.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme commencing from 01/11/2020 is the same version as that which applied in August. The principal terms are:

• The scheme is a flexible furlough scheme. This means employers can claim a grant for the difference between normal hours worked and actual hours worked. There is no requirement for a minimum period of consecutive days to have no work undertaken by the employee.
• Employees need to receive at least 80% of their normal pay.
• The grant is for 80% of the relevant hours not worked at normal rates of pay.
• The full 80% is claimed back by the employer by way of a grant.(this differs from, for example, the grant as it operated in October, where the grant was for 60% of the hours not worked, but the employee had to receive 80% of their normal pay).
• The only costs to the employer (other than opting to pay employees an amount in excess of 80% of their normal salary)  are employers NIC and employers pension costs.

The commencement of the Job Support Scheme has been deferred until the CJRS stops.