The Coronavirus Job Support Scheme – 22nd October Update

Today Rishi Sunak has announced an amendment to the Winter Economy Plan and the Job Support Scheme (JSS) due to the rising outcry over the requirement for additional employee job support for those affected by the tier 2 lockdown measures.

Amendments:

• The minimum hours employees must work has reduced from 33% to 20% to qualify for support.
• The Government will now pay 62% of the hours an employee does not work, increasing from the previously agreed 33%. The employer contribution for hours not worked will reduce to just 5% instead of 33% as per the original plan.
• This will mean employees will now take home 73% of their normal wages for working a minimum of 20% of their normal hours (where the contribution has not been capped). This will cover all eligible businesses in all alert levels.
• Where businesses are legally required to close, and employees can’t work for a week or more, employers will pay employees two thirds of their normal salary, and the Government will now cover 100% of these costs.

We will issue further updates on this scheme once additional information has been published by the Government.

If you have any questions about the Job Support Scheme please feel free to contact Amy Cowling, Employment and Rewards Manager at Friend Partnership Limited on 0121 633 2000 or by email at amy.cowling@friendllp.com