HM Treasury Update – Furlough and Employees on Family Friendly Leave 

On 9th June, HM Treasury announced that people on paternity and maternity leave who return to work in the coming months will be eligible for the government’s furlough scheme.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended until October, with new flexibilities introduced from 1 July to support the economy by allowing furloughed employees to return to work part-time. To enable the introduction of part-time furloughing, and support those already furloughed back to work, claims from July onwards will be restricted to employers currently using the scheme and previously furloughed employees. This means people must be on the furlough scheme by 10 June.
However, the government has confirmed that parents on statutory maternity and paternity leave who return to work in the coming months after a long period of absence will be permitted to be furloughed even though the 10th June cut-off date will have been missed. We await full details on Friday but we understand that this will only apply in cases where the employee works for an employer who has previously furloughed employees.