Amendment to Job Support Scheme

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a further amendment to the Job Support Scheme (JSS), which is due to begin on 1 November 2020 and be available for six months, with a review in January 2020.

When originally announced, the JSS required employees to work a minimum of 33% of their normal hours. This has now been reduced to 20%, meaning that employees working as little as one day a week are now eligible for the scheme.

Additionally, the employer contribution to the ‘unworked’ hours has been significantly reduced from 33% to just 5%. This could have a huge impact on businesses and enable more employees to be kept in work.

Employers will continue to receive the £1,000 Job Retention Bonus.

No changes have been made to the JSS for those businesses legally required to close.   Those businesses will receive grants to pay two thirds of the wages of staff who are unable to work, up to a maximum of £2,100 a month but will still have to cover pension and national insurance contributions.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the team at MLP Law with ideas about topics or for detailed advice in connection with any of the issues raised. You can reach us at employment@mlplaw.co.uk or @HRHeroUK or on 0161 926 9969.