23 October 2020

Further revisions to the Job Support Scheme

UPDATE 31 OCTOBER – JOB SUPPORT SCHEME ON HOLD.

With the CJRS Furlough Scheme set to end on 31 October, the Job Support Scheme announced in September was completely revised before it even started and then put on hold until at least 2 December, after Lockdown 2.0

When it eventually comes in, under the Job Support Scheme, employees would have had to work at least one third of their regular hours (paid for by the employer), with the remaining two thirds of hours not worked split equally between the Government, the employee and the employer, at one third each. Government funding would have effectively been 22% of wages and the maths was a nightmare, so at least we don’t have to deal with that now….

The Job Support Scheme from 1 November

Under the revised rules of the Job Support Scheme, from 1 November employers will now have to pay for a minimum of 20% of usual hours worked and 5% of the hours not worked, with the Government paying 61.67% of the hours not worked, subject to a monthly cap of £1,541.75 on the Government’s share.

Originally, employers needed to work one third of their regular hours, this has now been reduced to 20% – so at least this makes the maths easier as it represents 1 day out of 5 for full time employees.

For every hour not worked, the employee will be paid up to two-thirds of their usual salary

On the 80% of hours not worked, the Government will now fund 61.67% of the wages for hours not worked and the employer 5% – that is a total of 66.67% of the 80% not worked. Therefore in the most generous case, the Government will be funding 49.34% of wages.

The scheme will be open to all small businesses and larger businesses that can show an impact on revenues and is aimed at addressing the gap in support for businesses in tier two restrictions, such as Coventry and Birmingham, but it is not explicitly tied to that status, and is available across the UK.

The Lockdown Job Support Scheme

For businesses in tier 3, who are required to close, the Lockdown Job Support Scheme is simpler and funds 67% of wages where the employee is laid off.