Furlough scheme extended until end of April

The furlough scheme supporting workers temporarily laid off due to the coronavirus crisis will be extended by a month until the end of April.

It will mean the government continues to pay 80% of wages for those workers “giving business and employees across the UK certainty into the new year“, the Treasury said.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak had been due to review the employer contribution element of the furlough scheme in January but this has now been brought forward.

That means that, unlike earlier this year when the government started to scale back the subsidy and asked companies to put in more to cover wages, they will still have to pay only national insurance and pension contributions.

Mr. Sunak also announced that government-backed loan schemes designed to support stricken firms through the coronavirus crisis – which had been due to close at the end of January – would continue until the end of March.

The chancellor said: “Our package of support for businesses and workers continues to be one of the most generous and effective in the world – helping our economy to recover and protecting livelihoods across the country.