The Chancellor has announced this afternoon that parents returning to work in the coming months after family-friendly leave will still be eligible for the furlough scheme.
What’s the current position?
From July, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will only be available if you have previously used it to furlough employees. The scheme will therefore close to new entrants from 30 June, which means that the final date by which you can furlough an employee for the first time will be 10 June.
What’s the new exception to this cut-off date?
The Chancellor has announced that parents on family-friendly leave who return to work in the coming months will still be eligible for the CJRS as new entrants even after this cut-off date as long as you have been using the scheme for other employees.
Who is eligible?
This will apply to employees on maternity and paternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave, and parental bereavement leave.