UK: The UK government will continue to pay the wages of workers furloughed due to coronavirus until October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced.
Sunak confirmed that employees will continue to receive 80% of their monthly wages up to £2,500, but he said the government will ask companies to “start sharing” the cost of the scheme from August.
Some 7.5 million workers are now covered by the scheme, up from 6.3 million last week, he said.
From August, the scheme will continue for all sectors and regions of the country but with “greater flexibility to support the transition back to work”.
Employers currently using the scheme would be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time.
Sunak said: “I’m extending the scheme because I won’t give up on the people who rely on it. Our message today is simple: we stood behind Britain’s workers and businesses as we came into this crisis, and we will stand behind them as we come through the other side. Nobody who is on the furlough scheme wants to be on this scheme. People up and down this country believe in the dignity of their work, going to work, providing for their families, it’s not their fault their business has been asked to close or asked to stay at home.”
The British Chambers of Commerce said the move would bring “significant relief” to employers and workers.
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