Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce the furlough scheme which currently supports over 8 million employees will soon be closed to new entrants. The coronavirus job retention scheme (CBILS) , referred to as the furlough scheme was announced by the Chancellor on 20 March which led to employers being able to claim 80% of furloughed employees wages up to a maximum of £2500 per month. The Chancellor has extended the scheme was originally set to run to 3 months to the end of June however earlier this month we revealed a further extension to the end of October.
According to a report by the Financial Times the Chancellor is expected to announce the scheme will soon be closed to new entrants, with the Treasury believed to be looking at a cut-off date.
The chancellor is also due to reveal further details about how about how businesses will begin to share the costs of the scheme, with firms expected to pay around 20% of furloughed workers’ wages as well as National Insurance contributions.
The Chancellor said in a tweet that “from August to October the scheme will continue to support all sectors and regions of the UK but with greater flexibility to support the transit back to work. Employers currently using the scheme will be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time”
commenting again in social media the Chancellor added “I have listened to business owners, fighting to stay open and employees raring to return. This week we launched phase 2 flexible furloughing, which I hope will get us back up and running”
