Further furlough details expected this week

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak last month (29 May) stated employers wanting to place new employees on the scheme will need to do so by 10 June to allow them time to complete the minimum furlough period (three weeks) before the closure of the scheme.

The latest official figures showed 8.9m jobs in the UK had been furloughed, with a value of £19.6m in claims made.

This comes after Sunak said the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) in its current guise will close to new entrants at the end of this month​ (30 June).

Employer contributions

He revealed the contributions for furlough would start in August​​ with employers being asked to pay national insurance and pension contributions.

In September, they will pay 10% of furloughed employees’ wages while taxpayers will make up 70% and, in October, employers will contribute 20% and taxpayers 60%.

He went on to outline the introduction of the new flexible furlough scheme that will replace the current initiative from next month (1 July).

Sunak said: “The biggest request I’ve heard from businesses, large and small, right across our country, is to have the flexibility to decide what is right for them.”

Maximum flexibility

The Chancellor added: “So, to protect jobs and help businesses decide how quickly to bring their workforce back, we are introducing a new, more flexible furlough. This is a critical part of our plan to kick start the economy. The financial security of the furlough scheme has been a relief for many but, at the same time, people want to work.

“No one wants to be at home, on furlough. No one wants to feel unable to contribute so HMRC and the Treasury have worked hard to put the flexible furlough in place, not from 1 August as planned, but from 1 July – one month early.”

“From 1 July, employers will have the maximum possible flexibility to decide the right arrangements for them, and their furloughed staff.

“For instance, your employer could bring you back to work for two days a week. Your employer would pay you for those two days, as normal, while the furlough scheme would continue to cover you for the other three working days.”

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