Furlough scheme extended until end of June
17 April 2020
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has confirmed that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will be extended by a further month, to the end of June 2020.
The extension has been granted to reflect the continued requirement for the public to adhere to social distancing measures, in order to stop the spread of coronavirus.
A press release has been issued by the Treasury which explains that the move ensures that firms across the UK can continue to protect millions of jobs and that the scheme will be continuously monitored to ensure that people and businesses can get back to work, but only when it is safe to do so, to drive the UK’s economic recovery.
The scheme was originally open for a period of three months and backdated from 1 March to the end of May but will now be open until the end of June. The Chancellor maintains that the scheme could still be extended further should it be necessary.
Rishi Sunak said:
“We’ve taken unprecedented action to support jobs and businesses through this period of uncertainty, including the UK-wide Job Retention Scheme. With the extension of the coronavirus lockdown measures yesterday, it is the right decision to extend the furlough scheme for a month to the end of June to provide clarity.
It is vital for people’s livelihoods that the UK economy gets up and running again when it is safe to do so, and I will continue to review the scheme so it is supporting our recovery.”
The Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) confirmed that the CJRIS is limiting the impact that COVID-19 is having on employment.
Any further decisions on the CJRS will consider the wider measures being taken to curb the spread of coronavirus, but also take the responsible management of public finances into account.
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication. For all the latest information, news and resources on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting payroll professions, visit our Coronavirus hub.