Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has just announced the budget for 2021. Below are the key employment-related headlines:
Furlough extended – the scheme will be extended until the end of September 2021. Employees will continue to be entitled to 80% of income, but from July you will be required to contribute an additional 10%, and in August and September an additional 20% (in total) towards the furlough payment.
Furlough fraud – the government are investing £100million in new HMRC investigators to tackle furlough.
New apprentices – incentive payments doubled to £3000 for new apprenticeship hires.
National Living Wage – increase to £8.91 in April.
Pension – lifetime allowance frozen this year.
Personal tax thresholds – current personal tax thresholds frozen for this year.
Highly skilled migrants – review of the visa application process.
We’re updating our relevant guidance notes and FAQs and will issue these as soon as possible.
This update is accurate on the date it was sent (3 March 2021), but may be subject to change which may or may not be notified to you. This update is not to be taken as advice and you should seek advice if anything contained within affects you or your business.