More than one in every five British workers have been furloughed according to figures released by the government.
The total cost to pick up the wages, part of the job retention scheme announced by the chancellor Rishi Sunak, so far is £8bn.
The job retention scheme pays 80% an an employees wage – up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.
Initially expected to run up to the end of this month it has now been extended through to the end of June with many large businesses looking for it to be extended further.
Downing Street have revealed there are 800,000 employers through the UK that have made a claim through HM Revenue and Customs.
