Petition · past parliament
Review the government furlough scheme to include workers who started this month
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
Employers are making staff redundant with no option of furlough because they’re not eligible for the coronavirus retention scheme because they started after the cut off date February the 28th.
New workers joining payroll in March won’t receive any pay from the government.
New workers joining payroll in March won’t receive any pay from the government.
The legislation states that workers who started work after the 28th February are not entitled to this funding meaning that their new place of work is not eligible to claim the 80% relief of their salary.
This is a huge oversight and puts thousands of workers at risk, and stuck in the place of having no income and little to no prospect of getting employment in this current economy.
We need this amended. Punishing those for bettering themselves by furthering their career and starting a new job is not fair.
This is a huge oversight and puts thousands of workers at risk, and stuck in the place of having no income and little to no prospect of getting employment in this current economy.
We need this amended. Punishing those for bettering themselves by furthering their career and starting a new job is not fair.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Change the Furlough Support Scheme to include new hires after 28th February.
You can find out about what Government support is available for people as a result of coronavirus (under the section on employment and financial support) here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
You can find out about what Government support is available for people as a result of coronavirus (under the section on employment and financial support) here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
Timeline
| 27 Mar 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 16 Apr 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
16 Apr 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.