Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
UPDATED: The government will pay one-third of the wages of small business workers on reduced hours through its new Jobs Support Scheme.
Rishi Sunak announced the six-month Jobs Support Scheme to follow on from the coronavirus furlough scheme and begins on November 1.
Employees must work at least one third of their normal hours and be paid as normal. The government will then top up, covering one-third of pay lost by reducing hours, the business owner will cover another third and the employee will take a 33 per cent pay cut.
The level of government grant will be calculated based on an employee’s usual salary, capped at £697.92 per month.
>See also: Rishi Sunak eyes subsidising wages of part-time workers
Only full-time staff will be eligible for the Jobs Support Scheme.
The Jobs Support Scheme is designed to support full-time staff where there is not enough demand to justify them working a five-day week.
Mr Sunak told MPs he would strike the finely judged balance between managing the virus and protecting “the jobs and livelihoods” of people across the country.
The chancellor previously made clear he did not want to extend the £39bn furlough scheme to keep people in so-called “zombie