The government has announced that its Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been extended for a further month.
Following on from yesterday’s [April 16] announcement to keep the social distancing measures in place, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, said the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will 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 March 1 to the end of May.
However, the Chancellor said he will keep the scheme under review and will extend it if necessary. He 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 [April 16], 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.”
Future decisions on the CJRS scheme will take into account further developments on the wider measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus, as well as the responsible management of the public finances.
