Changes are being made to the furlough scheme from today, August 1, before it comes to an end in October.
The coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has seen the government pay the wages of millions of workers throughout the pandemic.
From today, employers can bring back furloughed staff for any period of time and any shift pattern, while still benefiting from the payments in the scheme.
The level of grant will also begin to be reduced every month until the scheme ends in October.
Though little will change from August, as employers must still pay furloughed employees 80 per cent of their wages, up to a cap of £2,500 per month for the time they are furloughed.
The main change is that employers will pay ER NICs (employer National Insurance contributions) and pension contributions for the hours the employee is on furlough which was previously covered by the government.
From September 1, employers will start contributing towards wage payments - with a 10 per cent contribution in September and a 20 per cent contribution in October.
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has previously announced a new bonus scheme to encourage employers to get furloughed staff back to work.
Mr Sunak said employers would be paid £1,000 for each employee they bring back in.
The jobs retention bonus will be paid as long as the employee is kept in work until January 2021, and receives at least £520 per month in income, on average.
