The Chancellor announced last month that the next Budget (as deferred from November 2020) will take place on Wednesday 3 March 2021. It was also announced that the job retention scheme is being extended one further month until April 2021 and that for the months of February 2021 to April 2021 the Government will continue to pay 80 percent of the salary of employees for hours not worked.

Employers will only be required to pay NICs and pensions for hours not worked. Hours worked should be paid as normal by the employer. This means that the Government is paying 80 per cent of hours not worked for the whole of the extended period of the scheme from November 2020 to April 2021 inclusive. The monthly cap for the months of November 2020 to January 2021 inclusive is £2,500 per month; at present the Government has not yet confirmed if this or a different cap will apply for the months of February 2021 to April 2021 inclusive.