HM Treasury has announced that employees on paternity and maternity leave returning to work in the coming months will be eligible to be placed on furlough leave under the Government’s Job Retention Scheme (the “Scheme”).
This means that employers will be able to place such employees on furlough leave after the normal cut-off point for new entrants which is today (10 June). It will, however, only apply where an employer has already made use of the Scheme in respect of other employees.
This change follows the Chancellor’s recent confirmation that the Scheme has been extended until October, with the ability of employees to carry out part time work from 1 July.
For other employees, the final date by which an employer needs to place them on furlough leave under the Scheme remains the same, 10 June. This is to ensure that they will have been furloughed for the necessary 3 week period ahead of the Scheme closing to new entrants at the end of June.
The information published by the Government so far can be found here.
Further details of the change are to be included in the updated Scheme guidance which is due to be published on Friday (12 June).
