COVID-19 CJRS update 16-4-20
New cut-off date & updated guidance for the CJRS
Many more employees will now be eligible for furlough under the coronavirus job retention scheme as the government has moved the payroll cut-off date to 19 March 2020.
The government has announced a major change to the coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS), moving the cut-off date from 28 February to 19 March. To qualify for the grant, the employer must now have created and started a PAYE payroll scheme on or before 19 March 2020.
Under the change, revealed in on 15 April (see link below), employers are now able to claim for furloughed employees that were on their payroll scheme on or before 19 March 2020 and who were notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020.
Employees who were employed on 28 February 2020 and on payroll (ie notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 28 February) and who were made redundant or stopped working for the employer after that and prior to 19 March 2020, can also qualify for the scheme if the employer re-employs them and puts them on furlough.
The updated guidance also includes more details on the information that will be required to make a claim once the claim portal goes “live” – expected to be during the week commencing 20 April.
Link to full HMRC guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme