The Government has today announced that thousands of employees will be able to receive support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, following the extension of the eligibility date to Thursday, 19th March.
This will ensure that thousands more workers can be furloughed, as the previous deadline of Friday, 28th February saw many unable to access the scheme. The date was chosen to prevent taxpayers' money being lost through fraud, but the Treasury has amended it to ensure that the scheme applies to as many employees as possible.
Under the scheme announced by the Chancellor last month, employers can claim a grant covering 80% of the wages for a furloughed employee, subject to a cap of £2,500 a month. Following a review of the delivery system and to ensure the scheme helps as many people as possible, new guidance published today has confirmed the eligibility date has been extended to 19th March 2020 – the day before the scheme was announced.
Employers can now claim for furloughed employees that were employed and on their PAYE payroll on or before 19th March 2020. This means that the employee must have been notified to HMRC through an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19th March 2020.
This change makes the scheme more generous while keeping the substantial fraud risks under control and is expected to benefit over 200,000 employees. HMRC have been working at pace to delivering the scheme, which is due to be fully operational next week.
If you are an employer that thinks this amendment may allow you to access the Job Retention Scheme, you can find more information here.
