Working parents on statutory maternity and paternity leave, who are returning to work before October 2020, will be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
The enhancement to the CJRS will mean that working parents will still be able to receive 80% of their salary through the government scheme, if an employer has previously registered a furlough claim before 10 June 2020.
Furlough claims from July 2020 will be restricted to employers who are currently using the scheme or have used it previously to furlough employees, meaning that employers have until 10 June 2020 to place employees on the furlough scheme. This is to introduce part-time furloughing, and support employees who have already been furloughed back to work.
More details of how the enhancement to the policy will be included in the government's updated guidance, to be published on 12 June 2020.
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: "When I announced these changes to the furlough scheme last month, I was clear that we wanted to do this in a fair way, that supports people back to work as the country begins to re-open following Coronavirus.
"But for parents returning from leave, their circumstances have meant that they are still in need of support, and I’m pleased that they will be able to receive the financial assistance they and their family will need.
"The CJRS, which has so far helped one million employers across the UK furlough almost nine million jobs, will close to new entrants on 30 June [2020], with the last three-week furloughs before that point commencing on 10 June [2020]."
