Martin FullardThe government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has opened for applications 20 April. All businesses are eligible and will receive money within six working days of making an application.
Under the furlough scheme, the government will cover 80% of the wages of employees, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month. The condition states that furloughed employees must remain on the company’s books, but that they may not work for the duration.
Employers can only claim for furloughed employees who were on their payroll on or before 19 March 2020.
The government has announced the CJRS has been extended until the end of June, after it was decided to keep the UK in lockdown for at least another three weeks.
HMRC has assigned 9,500 staff to handle the application process, which includes 5,000 people working on web chat. The Treasury has confirmed that the system can handle up to 450,000 applications each hour and that employers will receive money within six working days of making the application.