From tomorrow, Halifax Intermediaries will no longer accept applicants who are on furlough and those who have returned to work will need to wait until they have received their first payslip in order to prove their income.

The lender has told brokers that it will not accept a letter from an applicant’s employer confirming their expected or actual return to work date.

In an email to advisers, Halifax says: “Over the last seven months, we have supported customers who have been furloughed by their employer as a result of Covid-19. 

“There are now less than two months remaining of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and many employees have now returned to work.

“To ensure that we continue to lend responsibly, we are clarifying our income verification requirements for furloughed customers for new applications made from Tuesday 22 September.

“From this date, we will now need to ensure customers have returned to work before we will use their income to support a new mortgage application.”

The email adds: “In order to support this, we will now require the latest payslip to show the customer has returned to work and is being paid in full by their employer. 

“If furlough income is still showing on the latest payslip customers will need to wait until their next payslip is available before applying.

“We are unable to accept a letter from the employer with an expected, or confirmed, date for return to work.”