On 15 April the Government updated its guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and issued a Treasury Direction under ss.71 and 76 of the Coronavirus Act 2020, which provides the underlying legal framework for the CJRS.

The Treasury Direction makes one major change to the operation of the CJRS: The relevant date is now 19 March 2020 rather than 28 February 2020. In order to claim employers must have had a PAYE scheme on or before 19 March. Employers can claim in respect of employees that were on the PAYE payroll on or before 19 March and which were notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 19 March.

Employers can still rehire employees whose employment terminated after 28 February and place them on furlough.