Furlough pay to be released by month end and eligibility date has been extended to 19 March 20.

HMRC has promised to release wages for furloughed workers by the end of April, as the tax authority prepares for firms to start making claims from Monday.

Companies which have laid off staff temporarily under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can apply for government funds from 20 April.

The scheme, which covers 80% of workers' pay, runs until 1 June.

To qualify and to protect against fraudulent claims, individuals originally had to be employed on 28 February 2020.

But following a review of the delivery system and to ensure the scheme helps as many people as possible, new guidance published today has confirmed the eligibility date has been extended to 19 March 2020– the day before the scheme was announced.

Employers can claim for furloughed employees that were employed and on their PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020. This means that the employee must have been notified to HMRC through an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19 March 2020.

Full details and updates on the HMRC Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can be found here