On 24 September 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a new initiative,
the
Job Support Scheme
. The scheme will last for six months and start from 1 November, taking
over from the current furlough scheme which is due to end on 31 October.
The Job Support Scheme requires employees to work at least one-third of
their normal hours and will help employers top up salaries when they cannot
employ employees full time. For the hours the employee does not work, the
government and employer will each pay one-third of the remaining wages so
the employee receives at least 77% of their pay. Employees must be in
viable jobs to benefit from the scheme. This scheme will run alongside the
Job Retention Bonus, as well as other initiatives (see below) aimed to help
get people back into work, such as the Kickstart Scheme.
Under the Coronavirus Job Retention (furlough) Scheme, employers now have
to pay 10% of the salary of furloughed workers, plus their National
Insurance and pension contributions. Employer contributions will increase
to 20% of salary from 1 October onwards. Since July, furloughed employees
have been able to return to work on a part time basis while remaining
furloughed for the rest of the time. The furlough scheme closed to new
entrants on 30 June.
A one-off £1,000
Job Retention Bonus
can be claimed by employers in respect of all eligible employees who have
been previously furloughed if they are still employed at the end of January
next year.
The
Kickstart Scheme
is aimed at young people on Universal Credit aged between 16-24 and at
serious risk of long-term unemployment. The Government will fully fund each
“Kickstart” job, paying 100% of the age-relevant National Minimum Wage,
National Insurance and pension contributions for 25 hours a week. The
government will also pay employers £1500 to set up support and training for
people on a Kickstart placement.
Incentive payments for hiring new apprentices have been introduced to
support employers that take on new apprentices between 1 August 2020 and 31
January 2021.
Employers will receive:
-
£2,000 for apprentices aged 16 to 24; and
-
£1,500 for apprentices aged 25 and over
to spend on anything to support the employer’s associated costs.
Coronavirus Self-isolation FAQs
Any individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 (coronavirus) must self-isolate
for at least 10 days from when their symptoms started. More information on
Coronavirus self-isolation can be found
here
.
The contents of this Newsletter are for reference purposes only and do not constitute
legal advice. Independent legal advice should be sought in relation to any specific
legal matter.