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Following the Chancellor’s announcement of the Job Support Scheme earlier today, the government have published a short factsheet (found here) with some further details on how the scheme will operate.

The JSS is described as a scheme to protect “viable jobs” with employers able to claim government support for wages of employees who are working at least 33% of their normal hours.

The last six months have been incredibly challenging for everyone and the impact on the property market has led to modifications in the way the sector operates. Changing guidelines and the obvious importance of health and safety has meant that regular updates on current practices are required.

The latest announcement and guidelines issued by the government week commencing 21 September 2020 in relation to house visits appeared complex and may have caused some confusion.  However, the undernoted statement provided by the Scottish government confirms that, in accordance with their new updated guidelines, we are still permitted to visit your property both to prepare marketing information and to carry out accompanied viewings. 

On 31 July 2020, The Employment Rights Act 1996 (Coronavirus, Calculation of a Week’s Pay) Regulations 2020 came into force. These Regulations ensure that all furloughed employees receive redundancy payments at 100% of their normal pay, rather than at the reduced furlough rate.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: 31 July: Job Retention Bonus

The Job Retention Bonus is aimed to protect jobs by giving employers the opportunity to claim a one-off payment of £1000 for all eligible employees.

On 31 July 2020, HMRC published further details with regard to the eligibility requirements and how employers can claim the bonus.

Registers of Scotland are now accepting deceased person’s Wills for registration again, a welcome development in the winding up of estates, ensuring the protection and preservation of Wills following a death.  

It has been just over a month since the courts began accepting Confirmation (Scottish Probate) applications again.  While initially done through a series of regional “hub” courts, they can now be submitted to the same local court as they would have been before the lockdown.

On 26 June 2020 HM Treasury issued an additional Treasury Direction highlighting the new rules which are to apply under the amended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

The new Direction confirms that the original CJRS will end on the 30 June with the amended CJRS, which allows for ‘flexible furlough’ arrangements, to apply from the 1 July. The scheme will close on 31 October 2020.

On Friday 12 June 2020, HMRC issued further guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”). This guidance outlines the details of the ‘flexible furlough scheme’ which can be utilised from the beginning of July. Under the flexible furlough scheme, employers can bring back furloughed employees on a part-time basis while still being able to receive funds under the CJRS in respect of the hours the employee is not working.  

Flexible Furlough Scheme

Covering the phasing in of employer contribution and flexible working

On Friday 29 May 2020, the Chancellor set out more details on how the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will operate over the summer and autumn following the prior announcement of an extension of the scheme to the end of October 2020.

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