Chancellor extends furlough into March

British Chancellor Rishi Sunak has today announced that the UK furlough scheme to pay 80% of workers’ wages will be extended until March. The announcement has come on the back of the UK moving into a full lockdown for November and ready’s itself for a winter of surging COVID cases. The Chancellor has reserved the right to review the schemes effectiveness in January of 2021 to see if employers can begin to take on a larger share of the payments to employees. Market reaction on the news was muted as US election results and volatility have kept front and centre.