The government has announced its replacement for the furlough scheme to support struggling firms over the next six months of covid-19 restrictions.

Under the Jobs Support Scheme, unveiled by chancellor Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons this lunchtime, the government will contribute to the salaries of staff who are working at least a third of their normal hours.

Employers will still need to pay the wages of staff for the hours that they work but the government and the employer will jointly increase employees’ salaries to two-thirds of their usual wages.

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