The Chancellor has released further details about the on-going arrangements for the furlough leave scheme. We are awaiting detailed guidance – but understand the following:-
-10 June 2020 will be the last day employers can place staff on furlough leave
-from 1 July 2020 more flexibility will be permitted allowing employers to ask furloughed staff to work on a part-time basis
-from 1 August 2020 employers will need to start contributing towards the costs. Initially they will be required to pay for the employers’ national insurance contributions and pension contributions, and then required to pay 10-20% of salary costs
-the scheme will close at the end of October 2020
We have come to learn with this scheme that the devil is often in the detail, so we eagerly await the detailed guidance. In the meantime, employers should start to think about whether they should furlough staff before 10 June (i.e. before it’s too late) and/or how “flexible furlough” could work for their business.
Rishi Sunak has confirmed the Treasury is to gradually withdraw its job retention scheme over the next five months, with businesses meeting 20% of the wage bill for their furloughed staff by October.