Calculate how much you can claim through the Job Support Scheme
Calculate how much you have to pay employees on temporary working agreements for hours they've not worked and how much to claim from the scheme.
Make sure you’ve completed all the steps to take before calculating your claim.
If you’re using the Job Support Scheme to claim for some of the cost of unworked hours because your employees on temporary working agreements, the steps you need to take to calculate your claim are to:
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Use the calculator (if you cannot use the calculator then follow steps 2 to 4)
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Work out your employee’s reference salary
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JSS Open - work out how much you have to pay your employees for hours not worked
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JSS Open - work out what you can claim for the government contribution to wages
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JSS Closed - work out what you can claim if your business has had to close because of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions
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Claim through the Job Support Scheme
You will need to do several calculations to work out how much to pay your employee during the Job Support Scheme, and how much you can claim.
You should round each step of your calculations to two decimal places. This is normal rounding - values of five or greater should be rounded up, and four or less should be rounded down.
At the end of each calculation, we will tell you if you need to round the result to the nearest whole number. Otherwise, use the value you calculated to two decimal places.
Use the calculator
The calculator is not available yet, it will be available on Monday 2 November.
Use the calculator to work out how much you need to pay to each employee for hours not worked and how much of this you can claim.
The calculator can be used for most employees who are paid either regular or variable amounts each pay period (for example, weekly or monthly).
If you cannot use this calculator, you’ll need to work out how much you can claim manually using the calculation guidance or by seeking professional advice from an accountant, payroll professional or tax adviser.
We will continue to improve our online services regularly and will add more employment circumstances to the calculator functions.
It’s your responsibility to check that the amount you’re claiming for is correct.
Work out your employee’s reference salary
You need to calculate the reference salary for all employees you are claiming for under the Job Support Scheme. You do this the same way whether you are claiming for the employee through JSS Open, JSS Closed, or both.
Reference salary is the amount of your employee’s salary that is taken into account for JSS. It is based on the amount they have earned in the past.
Your employee’s reference salary is not always the amount that your employee is contracted or expected to earn in the claim period.
What to include when calculating reference salary
The reference salary includes:
- regular wages
- non-discretionary payments for hours worked including overtime
- non-discretionary fees
- non-discretionary commission payments
- piece rate payments
The reference salary does not include:
- payments made at the discretion of the employer or a client - where the employer or client was under no contractual obligation to pay, including:
- any tips, including those distributed through troncs
- discretionary bonuses
- discretionary commission payments
- non-cash payments
- non-monetary benefits like benefits in kind (such as a company car) and benefits received under salary sacrifice schemes (including pension contributions) that reduce an employee’s taxable pay
- payments made through distributions of capital alternative to PAYE/salary, such as dividend payments
Non-discretionary payments
When you’re working out if a payment is non-discretionary, only include payments which you have a contractual obligation to pay and to which your employee has an enforceable right. When variable payments are specified in a contract and those payments are always made, then those payments may become non-discretionary.
Non-discretionary overtime payments
If your employee has been paid variable payments because they worked overtime, you can include these payments when calculating their reference salary as long as the overtime payments were non-discretionary.
Payments for overtime worked are non-discretionary when you are contractually obliged to pay the employee at a set and defined rate for the overtime that they have worked.
Work out the maximum reference salary
The maximum salary that can be taken into account when calculating JSS entitlement is £37,500 a year. When you calculate the reference salary for your employee you’ll need to check the result is not more than the limits below (which represent the capped reference salary for government and employer contributions to hours not worked):
| Frequency of pay | Maximum reference salary |
|---|---|
| Annual | £37,500 |
| Monthly | £3,125 |
| Weekly | £721.15 |
| Daily | £102.74 |
You should calculate the maximum reference salary for each pay period. The pay period is the period in which the employee works and in respect of which the employee’s pay is calculated (sometimes also known as an ‘earnings period’). It does not necessarily relate to the day on which the employee receives payment.
You should use the weekly, monthly or annual cap if the pay period is a whole number of weeks or months, or a whole year. For example, for a fortnight the cap would be the weekly cap, £721.15, multiplied by 2, which is £1,442.30.
Otherwise, you should use the daily cap multiplied by the number of calendar days in the pay period.
How to work out the reference salary
The way you should work out your employee’s reference salary is different depending on the way they’re paid. You must check what you can include as wages first.
Choose the calculation you think best fits the way your employee is paid, this might not be the same way that you have worked out their usual hours. For example, if you pay your employee a fixed regular salary (and no irregular payments such as overtime), use the calculation for employees with fixed pay. HMRC will not decline or seek repayment of any grant based solely on the particular choice of pay calculation, as long as a reasonable choice is made.
Employees with fixed pay
For employees with fixed pay, their reference salary is the higher of:
- the amount payable to them in the last full pay period ending on or before 19 March 2020
- the amount payable to them in the last full pay period ending on or before 23 September 2020
If an employee with fixed pay took any of the following types of leave:
- statutory sick pay related leave
- family related statutory leave
- reduced rate paid leave following a period of statutory sick pay related leave
- reduced rate paid leave following a period of family related statutory leave
Use the pay the employee would have received if that leave had been taken as paid annual leave.
If your employee’s pay frequency has changed since the last pay period ending before 19 March 2020 use the guidance to work out the reference salary for an employee with fixed pay where the pay frequency has changed.
If your employee with fixed pay also has fixed hours, and their number of contracted hours has permanently reduced between March 2020 and September 2020, use the to work out the reference salary if an employee with fixed pay and fixed hours has permanently reduced their working hours.
Work out the reference salary for employees with fixed pay
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Identify the pay in each of the last pay periods ending on or before 19 March 2020 and 23 September 2020.
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Use the higher amount of pay. If the result is more than the maximum reference salary for the same pay period length (annual, monthly, weekly etc.), use the maximum reference salary value instead.
Find an example of working out the reference salary for an employee with fixed pay.
Work out the reference salary for an employee with fixed pay where the pay frequency has changed
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Identify the pay and duration of each of the last pay periods ending on or before: 19 March 2020 and 23 September 2020
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For both identified pay periods divide the amount of pay by the number of calendar days in the pay period, including non-working days. Use the higher result for Step 3.
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Multiply by the number of calendar days in the pay period you are calculating for.
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If the result is more than the maximum reference salary for the same pay period length (annual, monthly, weekly etc.), use the maximum reference salary value instead.
Work out the reference salary if your employee has not been paid for a full pay period on or before 23 September 2020
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Start with the wages payable to your employee in their last pay period ending on or before 23 September.
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Divide by the number of calendar days in that (short) pay period (including non-working days).
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Multiply by the number of calendar days that would have been in a full pay period.
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If the result is more than the maximum reference salary for the same pay period length (annual, monthly, weekly etc.), use the maximum reference salary value instead.
If your employee now has a different pay period (for example if they moved from monthly to weekly pay) you should also adjust the reference salary by the number of calendar days in each pay period.
Work out the reference salary if an employee with fixed pay and fixed hours has permanently reduced their working hours
If your fixed pay employee doesn’t work variable hours and:
- their number of contracted hours has reduced between 19 March 2020 and 23 September 2020
- due to a permanent, written contractual variation unconnected to the coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or the Job Support Scheme
Their reference salary is based on the wages payable to them in the last full pay period ending on or before 23 September 2020.
For these employees you should use the appropriate method for either:
You should only use the details of the last pay period ending on or before 23 September 2020.
Work out the reference salary for employees with variable pay
For employees with variable pay, their reference salary is the highest of:
- the wages they earned in the same calendar period in the 2019 to 2020 tax year
- the average wages payable in the 2019 to 2020 tax year
- the average wages payable from 1 February 2020 (or the date that the employment started, if later) until 23 September 2020
When you calculate the average wages you should not count any pay or calendar day when the employee was on a period of:
- statutory sick pay related leave
- family related statutory leave
- reduced rate paid leave following a period of statutory sick pay related leave
- reduced rate paid leave following a period of family related statutory leave
If your employee did not work for you in the corresponding calendar period in the tax year 2019 to 2020, you can only use the averaging methods to calculate their reference salary.
Work out the reference salary based on the same calendar period in the tax year 2019 to 2020:
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Identify the pay periods in the 2019 to 2020 tax year that include any part of the pay period you are calculating for.
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If there is only one pay period identified, and if all its days correspond to calendar days in the pay period you are calculating for – use the amount the employee earned in the identified pay period.
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If not – you’ll need to add together the amounts earned in each of the pay periods you’ve identified, in proportion to the number of corresponding days in each pay period.
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If the result is more than the maximum reference salary for the same pay period length (annual, monthly, weekly etc), use the maximum reference salary value instead.
Work out the reference salary based on more than one corresponding pay period in the tax year 2019 to 2020:
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Start with the amount the employee earned in the first pay period identified in the tax year 2019 to 2020.
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Divide by the number of calendar days in that pay period.
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Multiply by the number of calendar days in that pay period which correspond to a calendar day in the pay period you are calculating for.
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Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 for each other identified pay period in the tax year 2019 to 2020.
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Add them all together.
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If the result is more than the maximum reference salary for the same pay period length (annual, monthly, weekly etc), use the maximum reference salary value instead.
Work out the reference salary based on the average wages payable in the tax year 2019 to 2020:
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Start with the amount of wages that was payable to the employee in the 2019 to 2020 tax year.
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Divide by the number of days in the tax year (including non-working days, but excluding days before the employment started).
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Multiply by the number of calendar days in the pay period you are calculating for.
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If the result is more than the maximum reference salary for the same pay period length (annual, monthly, weekly etc), use the maximum reference salary value instead.
If the employee took certain types of leave in the 2019 to 2020 tax year, the average wage should be based on the period where the employee was not on leave. This means you should not count any pay or calendar days where the employee was on a period of:
- statutory sick pay related leave
- family related statutory leave
- reduced rate paid leave following a period of statutory sick pay related leave
- reduced rate paid leave following a period of family related statutory leave
If your employee started working for you after 6 April 2019, you should not include the days before their employment started in your calculation.
To work out the reference salary based on the average wages payable from 1 February 2020 to 23 September 2020
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Start with the amount of wages that were payable to the employee between 1 February 2020 and 23 September 2020.
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Divide by the number of days in the period (including non-working days, but excluding days before the employment started).
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Multiply by the number of calendar days in the pay period you are calculating for.
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If the result is more than the maximum reference salary for the same pay period length (annual, monthly, weekly etc), use the maximum reference salary value instead.
If the employee took certain types of leave between 1 February 2020 and 23 September 2020, the average wage should be based on the period where the employee was not on leave. This means you should not count any pay or calendar days where the employee was on a period of:
- statutory sick pay related leave
- family related statutory leave
- reduced rate paid leave following a period of statutory sick pay related leave
- reduced rate paid leave following a period of family related statutory leave
If your employee started working for you after 1 February 2020, you should not include the days before their employment started in your calculation.
If you’re claiming JSS Open you need to work out how much you’ll need to pay your employee for their hours not worked.
If you’re claiming JSS Closed you’ll need to work out how much you can claim from the scheme.
JSS Open - work out the amount to pay your employee for their hours not worked
Use this section if you are using JSS Open, or claiming JSS Open and JSS Closed. You do not need to use this section if you are only claiming JSS Closed.
You will claim the JSS Open government contribution in arrears from HMRC.
You must calculate the amount to pay your employee for their hours not worked separately for each pay period within the claim period and you must pay the employee both your contribution and the government contribution.
You must pay your employee, and report the payment through PAYE RTI, before you can make your claim. You will need to identify the number of JSS Open days in each pay period. The JSS Open days are the days in the pay period that your employee is on a JSS Open temporary working agreement and they are not:
- on unpaid leave
- on statutory sick pay related leave
- serving a notice period (redundancy or otherwise)
- being claimed for through JSS Closed
To work out the overall amount that you must pay your employee for their hours not worked in each pay period
s1: Start with the reference salary for the pay period. s2: Divide by the number of calendar days in the pay period. s3: Multiply by the number of JSS Open days in the pay period. s4: Divide by the number of usual hours for the JSS Open days in the pay period. s5: Multiply by the number of hours not worked for the JSS Open days. s6: Multiply by 66.67% (not two-thirds).
This is made up of a 5% employer contribution, and a 61.67% government contribution which you can claim.
JSS Open - work out how much you can claim
This is the amount that you can claim under the scheme. You can claim this amount back after you have paid it. You should calculate the government contribution separately for each pay period within the claim period so that you know how much to pay the employee in each pay period.
To work out the government contribution to the employee’s pay for the hours not worked you need to:
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Start the total pay you calculated for hours not worked.
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Divide by 66.67
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Multiply by 61.67
After the end of each month, you will be able to claim for the total amount, to do that you can simply add up the government JSS open grant you calculated for each pay period within the claim period.
Find an example of calculating how much you’ll claim for a JSS Open grant.
JSS Closed - work out how much you can claim
Use this section if you are claiming JSS Closed, or claiming JSS Open and JSS Closed. You do not need to use this section if you are only claiming JSS Open.
You will claim the JSS Closed grant in arrears from HMRC.
You must calculate the amount to pay your employee for the time your business is closed separately for each pay period within the claim period.
You must pay your employee, and report the payment through PAYE RTI, before you can make your claim.
You will need to identify the number of JSS Closed days in each pay period.
JSS Closed days are the days in the pay period that your employee is on a JSS Closed temporary working agreement and they are not:
- on unpaid leave
- on statutory sick pay related leave
- serving a notice period (redundancy or otherwise)
- being claimed for through JSS Open
To work out the amount that you must pay your employee for the time your business is closed in each pay period:
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Start with the reference salary for the pay period.
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Divide by the number of calendar days in the pay period.
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Multiply by the number of JSS Closed days in the pay period.
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Multiply by 66.67% (not two-thirds).
After the end of each month you will be able to claim for the total amount. You can simply add up the JSS Closed grant you calculated for each pay period within the claim period.
Find [an example of calculating how much you can claim for a JSS Closed grant] (government/admin/publications/1128081#calclosed-grant).
If you’re claiming both JSS Open and Closed
Find an example of working out how much you can claim for JSS Open and JSS Closed for the same pay period.
After you’ve calculated how much you can claim
Paying your employee
For employees on a JSS Open temporary working agreement there will be at least three parts to their pay:
- You must pay your employee for the time they actually work in accordance with their contractual entitlement.
- You must make a contribution to your employee’s wages for the hours not worked, which you will not be able to claim back.
- You must pay your employee the government contribution for the hours not worked; this is the amount you will be able to claim back.
For employees on a JSS Closed temporary working agreement the amount you must pay the employee for the time the business is closed is the same as the amount you will be able to claim back.
The entirety of any grant received to cover an employee’s subsidised pay must be paid to them in the form of money. No part of the grant should be netted off to pay for the provision of benefits or a salary sacrifice scheme. Where the employer provides benefits to employees, including through a salary sacrifice scheme, these benefits should be in addition to the wages that must be paid under the terms of the Job Support Scheme.
Normally, an employee cannot switch freely out of most salary sacrifice schemes unless there is a life event. HMRC agrees that COVID-19 counts as a life event that could warrant changes to salary sacrifice arrangements, if the relevant employment contract is updated accordingly.
If an employee switches out of a salary sacrifice scheme while on a JSS temporary working agreement this will not affect their reference salary because reference salary calculations are based on amounts earned or paid in the past, rather than the current contractual entitlement. The amount of the past payment to include in the reference salary calculation is the amount actually paid, which would be net of any salary sacrifice.
You’ll still need to pay the employer National Insurance and pension contributions on all of your employees’ pay and cannot claim any grant towards those costs.
Apprenticeship Levy and Student Loans
You should continue to pay the Apprenticeship Levy as usual if applicable to your business. Grants from the Job Support Scheme do not cover the Apprenticeship Levy. You should also continue to make Student Loan deductions where applicable from the wages you pay to employees.
National Minimum Wage
Individuals are entitled to the National Living Wage, National Minimum Wage or Apprentices Minimum Wage for the hours they are working or treated as working under minimum wage rules. At least minimum wage rates must be paid for all hours worked.
Workers who are working shorter hours through the Job Support Scheme must be paid a minimum of 66.67% of their wages for the hours not worked, based on their usual working hours, which might be below their appropriate minimum wage. The National Living Wage, National Minimum Wage and Apprenticeship Minimum Wage do not apply to payments for hours not worked unless the employee is requested to do training by the employer.
However, time spent training is treated as working time for the purposes of the minimum wage calculations and must be paid at the appropriate minimum wage rate. As such, employers will need to ensure that the wages and JSS grants provide sufficient monies to cover all working time including these training hours. Where the pay is less than the appropriate minimum wage entitlement, the employer will need to pay additional amounts to ensure at least the appropriate minimum wage is paid for both working time and training time.
Where a worker is paid close to minimum wage levels and is asked to complete training courses for a substantial majority of their usual working time, employers are recommended to seek independent advice or contact Acas.