The Chancellor has extended the furlough scheme to 30 April 2021.
The government will continue to contribute 80% of furloughed employees’ salaries for the hours not worked (up to the cap of £2,500 per month). Employers will only have to pay national insurance contributions (NICs) and pension contributions for hours not worked. They must pay normal wages (and NICs and pension contributions) for any hours employees work. The government is not changing the eligibility criteria for the scheme.
The Chancellor said he was announcing this now and, in so doing, bringing forward the promised review of employer contributions from January, to provide certainty to businesses and allow them to plan for the rest of winter. This means the scheme will not change in January 2021.
