Chancellor extends furlough scheme until October

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has extended the Government’s furlough scheme until the end of October.

Announcing the decision in the house of commons today (12 May) Sunak revealed that “no changes whatsoever” will be made to the current scheme until the end of July.  However he noted that from August to October the scheme will continue, for all sectors and regions of the UK, but with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work.

Employers currently using the scheme will be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time.

“There will be no reduction in the level of support for those on the scheme,” said the chancellor. Instead he said he will ask employers to begin sharing the cost of paying people’s salaries with the government. 

He added that further information on the changes will come at the end of the month.

Currently there are around 7.5 million people who have been placed on the scheme, which sees the government pay 80% of employees wages up to £2,500 a month, with the figure closing in on the 8.3 million that was predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibly.