Policy win: Chancellor extends furlough scheme to end of June

– move will allow firms from across UK to continue to protect millions of jobs

– scheme will continue to be monitored to ensure people and businesses can get back to work as soon as it’s safe to do so to drive UK economic recovery

The government’s unprecedented furlough scheme that is keeping millions of people in jobs will be extended for a further month, the Chancellor confirmed today.

Following on from yesterday’s announcement to keep the social distancing measures in place, Rishi Sunak said the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) would now be open until the end of June – providing businesses with the certainty they need.

The scheme, which allows firms to furlough employees with the government paying cash grants of 80% of their wages up to a maximum of £2,500, was originally open for three months and backdated from the 1 March to the end of May.

However, the Chancellor said he would keep the scheme under review and extend it if necessary.

Yesterday it was announced that following lobbying from the British Chambers of Commerce and the Chamber Network, the UK government has extended the eligibility for the Coronavirus Job Retention (CJR) Scheme to new starters on the PAYE system up to 19 March. Read more about this here.

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