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Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Extended Until 31 October

on Thursday, 14 May 2020.

The Chancellor has announced this week that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) will continue until end of October 2020.

This means that furloughed charity workers across the UK will continue to receive 80% of their salary, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. The charity will be able to claim a grant under the Scheme to recoup these wage costs. The Scheme was introduced in March  and opened  for claims on 20 April. It had previously been extended from 31 May to 30 June, and following the Prime Minister's announcement setting out the proposed road-map out of the lockdown, it has now been extended further to support the phased re-opening of the economy.  

The Scheme will continue in its current form until the end of July, which means that furloughed employees will remain prohibited from carrying out any work for the employer or an associated employer. However, new flexibility will be introduced to the Scheme from August that will allow furloughed workers to undertake some work for their employer on a part-time basis. Although limited information about how this will work in practice has been published, the Chancellor has advised that employers will be expected to pay a percentage towards the salaries of their furloughed staff, presumably proportionate to the hours that the employees work. Staff will continue to receive 80% of their salary, up to the £2,500 cap per month.

Coronavirus Legal Advice

Charities who anticipate that they will have work to offer to furloughed staff on a short-time basis from August will need to consider how many staff they require. They will need a fair means of selecting who will return, with a view to assessing the nature of the work available and any relevant health and safety risks.

More information regarding the changes to the Scheme is anticipated later this month and we will provide further guidance for charities as and when more is known about how much part-time work will be permitted and how this will affect the level of the grant currently available to employers.


For specialist advice on the extension of the Scheme, please contact Jo Oliver in our Employment team on 07909 547537, or complete the form below. 

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