Furlough scheme extended to October

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) until the end of October.

Originally scheduled to conclude at the end of May, the UK government extended the scheme until the autumn to continue supporting the 6.3 million employers and employees currently utilising the support.

“I’m extending the scheme because I won’t give up on the people who rely on it,” Sunak said in his address to MPs.

CJRS will now run for a full eight months, backdated to March 1, and no changes will be made to the scheme until the end of July.

Full extension details are expected by the end of May, but Sunak has promised that “there will be no reduction in the level of support for those on the scheme.”

Ahead of Sunak’s announcements, employers and employees shared their concerns over the scheme ending in June, given the continued economic downturn.

“For staff currently furloughed, we simply do not have the work available for them, so if the scheme isn’t extended tonight, we will be forced to make several of our staff redundant,” Jonathan Ratcliffe, CEO of Offices.co.uk, said via email.

“We cannot afford to keep them on – our workload is 30 percent of what it was, and cashflow is under severe strain. The plan is that in three months’ time, we will be busier, and can then move them off furlough back into work.”

CJRS has offered employers an alternative to sacking staff by providing 80 percent of employees’ salaries, up to £2,500 per month, per individual.

However, by May 3, the scheme had already cost the government £8bn, according to HMRC. Sunak has announced that despite this, the government will continue to support businesses at the same salary percentage they currently are.

The funds are being offered as a grant by the UK government as part of its coronavirus response, so businesses do not need to repay them.

“We will need to support people back to work – we will do so in a measured way,” Sunak said.