More than 200,000 more employees will now be eligible to receive support through the Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme after the eligibility date was extended to March 19.
Employers can now claim for furloughed employees who were employed and on their PAYE payroll on or before March 19 - the day before the scheme was announced.
Individuals originally had to be employed on February 28 2020 to qualify for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Under the scheme, employers can claim a grant covering 80 per cent of the wages for a furloughed employee, up to £2,500 a month.Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the first cash will be made available to employers to cover the wages of staff on furlough from Monday, April 20.