Government announces to significant changes to the Job Support Scheme

Government announces to significant changes to the Job Support Scheme

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has announced some significant changes to the Job Support Scheme, which comes into effect from the 1^st November.

The changes are:

• The minimum number of hours an employee has to work under the scheme have been reduced to 20% of an employee’s usual hours (down from 33%)
• The employee will receive two thirds (66.67%) of their normal wages for their usual hours which are not worked
• Employers will only have to contribute 5% of an employee’s wages (down from 33%) for the hours not worked (but the employer will also have to pay NIC’s and auto enrolment pension contributions)
• The government’s contribution to wages for hours not worked has been increased to 61.67%.

Support for businesses which are forced to close because of national restrictions and the Job Retention Bonus remain as previously announced.

The Job Support scheme is open to all SME’s but large employers (250+ employees) will need to be able to show their turnover has remained static or decreased to be able to use the scheme.

The changes to the Job Support Scheme for businesses which remain open are significant and make the scheme much more attractive to employers, especially when combined with the Job Retention Bonus.

Bridge Employment Law are giving a webinar on 5^th November covering redundancy handling and related issues but we will also be updating attendees about the Job Support Scheme.  If you would like to reserve at our webinar please click here.