Furlough Scheme Extented Into Autumn

The Chancellor stated that employees will continue to receive 80% of their wages - up to the existing ceiling of £2,500 per month - but companies will be asked to share the cost burden of the scheme from August. Some 25% of the UK's workforce - which equates to 7.5 million people - is now covered by the job retention mechanism, at a monthly cost of £14 billion.

Rishi Sunak said: "I'm extending the scheme because I won't give up on the people who rely on it. Our message today is simple: we stood behind Britain's workers and businesses as we came into this crisis, and we will stand behind them as we come through the other side."

From August, the chancellor said, the scheme would continue for all sectors and regions of the country but with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work. Employers would at that point be able to bring furloughed employees back to work on a part-time basis.

"Nobody who is on the furlough scheme wants to be on this scheme," the chancellor added. "People up and down this country believe in the dignity of their work, going to work, providing for their families, it's not their fault their business has been asked to close or asked to stay at home."

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