Furlough extended until September

It was announced by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, on 3 March, that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (commonly known as furlough) is to be extended once again. This time it is to be extended from 30 April 2021 to 30 September 2021.

An employee on furlough will still receive 80% of their wages (up to a maximum of £2,500 per month) for hours not worked.

However, from 1 July 2021, the government will only contribute 70% of the employee’s wages for hours not worked (the other 10% to be made up by the employer) and from 1 August 2021 the government will only contribute 60% of the employee’s wages for hours not worked (the other 20% to be made up by the employer).

Although nothing is certain, with the positive effects of lockdown and the vaccination programme in dealing with Coronavirus, the government probably see this as the last time they will need to extend furlough.

The law in this article is current as of 4 March 2021.

If you have any employment law queries, please do not hesitate to contact David Nathan at [email protected] or on 020 7822 2247.

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