Ahead of the budget which will be announced later today, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, is set to confirm that the Furlough Scheme will be extended until September 2021.
This will help businesses across the country adjust to coming out of lockdown and give many the lifeline that they have been hoping for.
The Furlough scheme allows employers to put their employees on Furlough, and in turn, the government pays up to 80% the employees’ wages (up to a cap of £2500).
The scheme has so far enabled businesses to retain their staff without having to look at redundancies during the pandemic.
As the economy reopens, businesses will be expected to contribute towards their employee’s wages. It is reported that from July, employers will have to pay 10% towards the hours not worked and in August and September, this will increase to 20%.
Employers at the moment only have to pay pension and NI contributions.
Some may question whether extending the scheme is simply just delaying the inevitable and there are also concerns about what this will mean for the future and the UK economy.
If you have any questions regarding the furlough scheme or any HR related queries, please get in touch. Email us at support@guardianlaw.co.uk.
