The Government has announced it is extending the eligibility cut-off date for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to 19 March 2020.

The move means thousands more workers across the UK will be eligible for furlough after the Government had originally announced individuals needed to have been employed on 28 February.

Under the CJRS announced last month by Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, employers can claim a grant covering 80% of the wages for a furloughed employee, subject to a cap of £2,500 a month, and the original date at the end of February had been to protect against fraudulent claims.

Following a review of its delivery system, however, and to ensure the scheme “helps as many people as possible”, new guidance published by the Government has confirmed the eligibility date has been extended to March 19 – the day before the scheme was announced.

The Government, which suggested the CJRS is is expected to benefit over 200,000 employees, also confirmed the scheme is due to be “fully operational” next week.

Hargreaves Lansdown personal finance analyst, Sarah Coles, commented: “This will come as an enormous relief to thousands of people who had been let go, and through horrible bad luck had slipped through the net of the furlough scheme.

“The Government initially said they could go back to their former employer and ask to be taken back on and furloughed. However, many employers were worried about the implications of taking staff back, and whether it opened them up to risks and new obligations, so they refused – leaving people high and dry.

“Unfortunately, the detail of the change means not everyone employed by 19 March will be brought into the scheme. You also have to have been on your new employers’ payroll – and HMRC must have been notified of it by this date. If your employer usually notifies HMRC of changes at the end of each month, you would have had to have started by the end of February to qualify.”

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