Among ever changing guidance, the government recently announced a new Job Support Scheme to take effect on 1st November 2020. Originally announced at the end of September, it was extended to support businesses required to close and, as of last week, has been updated to reduce the costs to employers. As a result of changing rules and the forced closure of businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, this scheme will now effectively have two strands:
The UK Government announced yesterday afternoon (22 October 2020) that government contributions under the new Job Support Scheme (JSS) will be increased. Originally, employers were expected to pay up to 33% of the cost of the unworked hours of their employees. With the government’s announcement, the employer contribution is now only 5%, with the government making up the shortfall.
In March 2020, working from home became much more prevalent very suddenly. As time goes on, it appears it could be the ‘new normal’ for many for a while yet and remains the default position where possible.
The Chancellor has announced that the previously announced Job Support Scheme (see our previous blog on this) will be expanded to support UK businesses required to close due to government coronavirus restrictions.
