The Government has announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be extended until 30 April 2021.

Back in November, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (also known as the furlough scheme) would be extended until the end of March 2021. It has now been announced that this will have a further one-month extension, until 30 April 2021.

The Government will continue to subsidise up to 80% of an employee’s salary (capped at £2,500 (gross) per month) and the employer will continue to be responsible for pension and NI contributions.

For more details on the furlough scheme, see our previous post.

The Government previously said there would be a review of employers’ contribution rates at the end of January 2021, however there has been no change to the arrangements and employers are not therefore required to contribute to employees’ salaries to be eligible under the scheme.

This update will no doubt influence employers’ thinking as they consider making redundancies and generally seek to mitigate the adverse impacts of COVID 19 to their business.

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If you have any questions or queries about this update or current employment law changes, don’t hesitate to contact the team via emp@teacherstern.com