Furlough extension protects households from financial cliff edge, but shielded group will need right to access the scheme, says Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice has responded to the Chancellor’s announcement on the extension of the Job Retention Scheme.

Dame Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:

“Extending the furlough scheme and allowing employers to bring back their workers part-time are sensible steps to protect household finances. The Job Retention Scheme was an unprecedented intervention which has protected jobs and put money in people’s pockets. We have made clear that changes to the scheme would be needed to make sure people don’t face a financial cliff edge.

“Sadly, we continue to see cases where people in the shielded group are being denied furlough. People in this group need a right to access this scheme if they cannot work safely. Nobody should be forced to choose between paying the bills or protecting their health.”

Notes to editors

  1. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

  2. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online and over the phone, for free. 

  3. We helped 2.7 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2018-19. And we had 29 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

  4. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.