Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to tell employers they will need to contribute to their furloughed workers’ salaries from August.
Mr Sunak is expected to make the announcement later on Friday at the Downing Street press briefing.
Officials have admitted the scheme, which has been extended until October, cannot run “indefinitely”.
Originally announced on March 23, the furlough scheme pays 80 per cent of employees’ wages up to £2,500 a month to save them being laid off during the coronavirus crisis.
When the scheme opened at 8am on Monday, April 20, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said claims covering 67,000 employees had been made in the first 30 minutes of the portal opening.
To date, it has covered the wages of 8.4 million staff unable to work during lockdown - costing £15 billion.
Here, we take a closer look at employees' rights and how the scheme may come to an end.
What is furlough?
If a company is unable to operate or they have no work for staff to do during the pandemic, workers can be put "on furlough", which means they are kept on the payroll and not made redundant.
Employers facing difficulties are able to access support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to continue paying 80 per cent of staff wages, to avoid redundancies and keep paying staff.
Under the Government scheme, workers will be paid 80 per cent of their wages, up to £2,500 a month, and continue to pay tax on their income.
Employers can agree to pay the extra 20 per cent, but do not have to.
It is important to note that both you and your employer must agree to put you on furlough and your employer must confirm in writing that you have been furloughed to be eligible to claim.
When will the government's furlough scheme end?
The coronavirus job retention scheme will continue through to the end of October.
However, Mr Sunak is reportedly weighing whether to ask employers to contribute around 20 per cent of wages, as well as National Insurance and pension contributions from August.
Mr Sunak has announced some changes will take effect from the end of July onwards, but is yet to provide detail on what the revisions will be.
Updating MPs on the Government's plans for the scheme on May 12, he said: "Full details will follow by the end of May, but I want to assure people today of one thing that won’t change. Workers will through the combined efforts of Government and employers continue to receive the same level of overall support as they do now at 80% of their current salary up to £2,500 a month.
"I’m extending the scheme because I won’t give up on the people who rely on it. Our message today is simple: we stood behind Britain’s workers and businesses as we came into this crisis, and we will stand behind them as we come through the other side."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has meanwhile pressed ahead with "careful steps" to ease the coronavirus lockdown, with the government eager to get staff back to work where possible.
As part of those moves, Mr Sunak has held talks with the TUC and CBI about the future of helping people back into work.
He said this could include providing training or helping businesses to create new jobs.
