Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is to extend the UK government’s flagship job retention scheme until the end of October, prolonging a programme which has supported more than 7m jobs at a monthly net cost of about £10bn.
But Mr Sunak has presented business with a moment of truth on August 1, when he will ask employers to start “sharing the cost” of the furlough scheme, forcing them to decide whether the frozen jobs are still viable.
Business leaders and unions welcomed the extension of the scheme, which was due to expire at the end of June. It means the taxpayer will be paying the wages of up to a fifth of the workforce for a total of eight months.
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