Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) extended until October

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has confirmed that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will be extended until the end of October, with no changes until the end of July when employers currently using the scheme will be able to bring back furloughed employees part time.

From August, the Government has said that furloughed workers will continue to receive 80 per cent of their usual salaries capped at £2,500. However, employers will have to make a currently unspecified contribution to this cost. Details of these arrangements are due to be published by the end of May.

The CJRS currently allows employers to retain employees on the PAYE payroll who are not carrying out work for them by placing them on furlough and to claim a grant of 80 per cent of a furloughed employee’s usual pay, plus employer National Insurance Contributions (NICS) and minimum employer auto-enrolment pension contributions.

The Chancellor said that since the scheme was launched in March, more than one million businesses have furloughed more than 7.5 million workers.