The official end date of the Furlough Scheme is on October 31, but numerous changes are expected to be introduced until then. The Government had earlier announced in July a £1000 “job retention bonus” for employers as token for every employee they can keep until the end of January 2021. The “retention bonus” is aimed at keeping and bringing back people at work out from furlough and to add job security to the already devasted economic environment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This one-time support per employee will also help in reshaping the current atmosphere and would serve as a lifeline to a challenging economic recovery.
From August 1, firms will need to start paying national insurance and pension contribution for their workers; meaning that their salaries will remain the same and their national insurance (N.I) and pensions contributions will be taken care of separately. This way, employers will have to pay more for their employees.
From September 1, 70% of the wages will be paid by government as opposed to the 80% which has the case since the start of the furlough scheme. Employers will be therefore asked to pay at least 10% so as to complete the sum to 80% for their employees while continuing to pay the national insurance (N.I) and pension for them.
Furthermore, from October 1, government will pay 60% of the wages, while employers will have to pay the remaining 20% of the wages as well as the pension and national insurance. These new measures will enable a slow but steady return to normalcy and would also revive people’s hope in investing back to the economy. Through these recovery measure, companies and other employers will eventually improve in their services and performance.
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