Find out about the Chancellor’s new Job Support Scheme.
What is it?
Although the furlough scheme is coming to an end on the 31st of October 2020, the Chancellor has announced the new job support scheme, which will run from the 1st November for 6 months.
This will help to pay the wages of workers who can work at least a third of their normal hours.
Businesses which use this scheme will still be eligible for the Job Retention Bonus of £1,000.
An employee must work at least a third of their normal hours. The employer will pay for a third of hours not worked, and the government will also pay for a third of hours not worked.
This means that employees will receive a minimum of 77% of their normal wages, where the Government contribution has not been capped.
The government contribution is capped at £697.92 per month.
What other help was announced?
The Chancellor also announced a “Pay As You Grow” loan payback scheme to help businesses who took out loans during the coronavirus crisis.
This scheme includes extending the repayment of bounce back loans from six to 10 years, reducing the average monthly payment, allowing businesses to make interest only payments, and even allowing business to suspend payments for up to six months.
The Pay As You Grow scheme will not affect a business’s credit score.
All of the Government’s loan schemes have had their deadlines extended to the end of November.
The chancellor also announced that the planned VAT increase for the hospitality sector will not go ahead, meaning that the VAT rate will remaking at 5% until next year.