Nearly one in five companies are considering making staff redundant as the changes to the Government furlough scheme come into place.

From yesterday, 1st August, the rules changed meaning that the government contribution towards furlough payments (of 80% of salary) reduced to 60%, leaving employers paying the remaining 20%.

A survey by British Chamber of Commerce of more than 250 businesses found that 18% were now considering laying staff off.

Older workers are much more likely to still be on furlough and the BCC is calling on the Government to increase skills training so that workers could find other work.

Jane Gratton, Head of People Policy at the BCC, said: "Changes to the furlough scheme will likely result in many thousands of people being released back into the labour market, as employers who are still struggling to recover from the recession are forced to make redundancies and cuts to working hours.

"With widespread skills shortages across the economy, some will find new jobs where their skills are in demand, while others will need to retrain for opportunities in a different sector.

"Whether furloughed workers are returning to the workplace or the wider labour market, it is crucial that employers and the government give them the support and training they need to be re-engaged and productive.

"Alongside rapid retraining opportunities, government should extend the Kickstart scheme into 2022, and expand it to enable older workers to gain new skills and experience."

The survey also revealed that nearly a quarter (24%) of businesses were considering reducing staff hours or moving them to part-time working.

But 39% said the changes would have no impact on their business and 7% said they were actually looking to expand their business.