The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak announced on 17 December, that the Furlough scheme has been extended by one month, until 30 April 2021. The scheme began on 1 November and was originally due to finish on 31 March 2021.

Furthermore, he has confirmed that the Government will continue to pay 80% of wages subject to a maximum which is currently £2,500 per employee per month. 

Under original plans the Government was going to review the scheme in January and take a decision on whether employers would need to contribute to the furlough scheme.

The full announcement can be found here.

A date for the budget has been set

Due to the economic climate the autumn Budget was cancelled.  The Chancellor has now confirmed that a new date has been set for the Budget which will be on 3 March 2021.  This will provide businesses with some certainty more than 45 days before the end of the furlough scheme.

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