Sunak’s furlough extension paves the way for more lockdowns

England has only been back in national lockdown for a matter of hours and already economic support packages are rolling in — not for the duration of this lockdown (furlough was already confirmed until 2 December) but for the months to follow after the country exits lockdown.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has abandoned a return to the jobs support scheme when lockdown ends — which sees the majority of financial costs fall on the employer — and instead decided to extend the furlough scheme across the UK in its most generous form. Furlough will run until March 2021 at least, with the government paying 80 per cent of workers’ wages for businesses that are forced to (or choose to) remain shut, with employers asked to pay only the cost of national insurance and pension contributions.

The self-employed will see an extension as well, receiving 80 per cent of their average profits (capped at £7,500) to be delivered with a third grant covering November to January.