COVID-19: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme And Administration

The Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) aims to help employers preserve jobs, but it is also available to administrators of failing companies. In the right circumstances, an administrator may use the scheme to furlough staff and keep their jobs open, whilst looking for a buyer for the business. It also opens up the possibility of mothballing the business with a view to saving the company through a company voluntary arrangement, under the protection of the administration moratorium. This may be particularly useful in the case of retail and leisure businesses, where landlords are circumventing the government's bar on possession proceedings by taking other actions to collect unpaid rents, which might prevent the survival of the company.