Furlough extended until March 2021

Following an announcement from the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, the government is extending furlough until March 2021 and increasing support for the self-employed.

Workers across the United Kingdom will benefit from increased support with a five-month extension of the furlough scheme.

The government will continue to cover 80% of employees’ wages at firms affected by coronavirus restrictions. Sunak said employers will only be required to cover national insurance and pension contributions for employees who have been furloughed under the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

The level of wage supported is, however, going to be reviewed in January.

The planned Job Support Scheme is going to be replaced by the furlough scheme for now. The Job Retention Bonus (a £1,000 one-off payment) would be scrapped for now and replaced with a new “retention incentive”. More is yet to come on this though.

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