Today marks the last day of the furlough scheme in the UK as the government draws the 18-month initiative to a close.
According to the ONS, around 1 million people across Britain were expected to be on the scheme by the end of September.
The end of furlough could leave this group who are yet to return to work in limbo, with the figures unclear regarding how many people still rely on the initative for their income.
But does furlough apply to Scotland, and will Scottish workers be impacted by the changes?
Here's what you need to know...
Will furlough end today in Scotland?
Furlough is a UK wide initiative across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and is therefore controlled by the UK government.
Scotland does not have the borrowing powers necessary to fund a scheme as vast as furlough, and so it is left in the hands of Westminster.
It means that the scheme is aligned across the UK and that furlough will end in Scotland after September 30.
Is Universal Credit controlled by the Scottish Government?
Benefits and social security are not devolved powers, meaning that the UK government is in charge of Universal Credit for the entire country.
This means that when the £20 increase to Universal Credit ends in October, it will apply to all four nations across the UK.
What happens if I am made redundant?
Some forecasters are expecting a small rise in unemployment following the end of the scheme, due to some companies being unable to keep staff on without continued support.
If you are made redundant following the end of furlough, you have legal rights: the redundancy selection process must be fair, you must be given notice, and you are entitled to tax-free redundancy pay.
Jobseekers allowance may also apply to you, which is a payment to support people looking for work.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
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