Indian software major Infosys is among the many UK companies to benefit from UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, it emerged on Sunday.

Infosys, co-founded by Sunak’s father-in-law Narayana Murthy, said it had used the furlough - or forced leave - option for 3 per cent of its staff in order to tide through the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

“In light of the current situation, Infosys has furloughed 3 per cent of its UK workforce. We are reviewing this on a weekly basis,” Infosys told ‘The Sunday Times’.

The scheme was unveiled by the Indian-origin Finance Minister, married to Murthy’s daughter Akshata, at the peak of the crisis and is set to gradually wind down until it is fully closed at the end of October.

Under the provisions, the Govt covers 80 per cent of salaries of furloughed staff, up to the value of GBP 2,500 a month, in order to prevent companies having to resort to redundancies. In a latest set of announcements earlier this week, Sunak had added more flexibility into the programme so that employers can make use of the scheme in the most effective way. “Our top priority has always been to support people, protect jobs and businesses through this crisis. The furlough and self-employment schemes have been a lifeline for millions of people and businesses,” said Sunak, who is leading the UK Government’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic. “We stood behind Britain’s businesses and workers as we came into this crisis and we stand behind them as we come through the other side.