Yesterday, some further guidelines for the Job Retention Scheme were released. These relate to what employees can be furloughed.
Employers can now furlough staff who need to shield inline with public health guidance, or if they need to stay home with someone who is shielding, and they are unable to work from home.
Parents who have to stay at home to care for children due to the coronavirus regulations can also now be furloughed.
Employers can now also re-hire staff that were made redundant or stopped working for the business on or after 28/02/2020. They can re-employ the staff and furlough them. There aren’t any specific guidelines on the HMRC website that say how a business does this, but I did find this article by the ICAEW that talks about how it can be done: https://www.icaew.com/insights/tax-news/2020/apr-2020/covid19-act-fast-to-reinstate-workers-for-the-furlough-grant. I would advise that you speak to the person who does your payroll, or if you are the one who does the payroll, speak to your payroll software provider to find out how you can re-employ your staff as each software is going to be different.
The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.
UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/
I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/