Another day, another address to the nation with us all glued to our laptops, biting our nails. This time, ChancellorRishi Sunak announced a new Job Support Scheme. Starting in November, the six-month scheme - which will replace the furlough scheme - will see the government pay part of workers’ wages who have lost their hours.
What is the Job Support Scheme?
The job support scheme suggests that if companies cannot afford to keep their staff full time, they keep them, but on shorter hours, rather than make them redundant.
The government ‘together with employers’ will pay two-thirds of the loss the employee has because of this.
But, crucially, the scheme will only support ‘viable jobs’. Employees must work at least a third of their normal hours. Anyone who was employed as of yesterday is eligible. The scheme will start in November and end in April.
READ MORE: The Internet Is Obsessed with Rishi Sunak's Accidentally Very Rude New Slogan...
It is designed to replace the furlough scheme which ends at the end of October. It is for small and medium businesses - larger businesses can only apply when their turnover has fallen. Businesses are eligible even if they have not previously used the furlough scheme.
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READ MORE: What Is Furlough? The Government Scheme That Pays 80% Of Your Wages Explained
Employers retaining furloughed staff on shorter hours can claim both the Jobs Support Scheme and the Jobs Retention Bonus. The government hopes this will increase incentives for businesses to bring back previously-furloughed employees.
The Chancellor announced in his statement that the Government will pay two thirds of the wages of people in ‘viable jobs’ who are working at least a third of their normal hours. But what is a ‘viable job’?
What does viable mean in the Job Support Scheme?
Robert Peston, Political Editor of ITV News, has described it thus: ‘Businesses facing depressed revenues can choose to keep people on [their] books so long as they work a third of [their] normal hours, as alternative to redundancy.’ He also points out that this ‘will help businesses that have reduced revenues. Though it won’t help those whose revenues have utterly collapsed”. In other words, a viable job could be one in hospitality and retail, two sectors that have suffered huge losses but are still limping along. A non-viable job, on the other hand, could include one in the theatre, say, or connected to a live sporting event; two sectors that have remained firmly closed since March.
According to the Sun, the Government will put a cap for salaries up to around £30,000.
What does the Job Support Scheme mean if I'm on maternity leave?
It's yet to be fully determined by the government, but previously, on furlough, if you were eligible for Stautory Maternity Pay, normal rules apply. If your employer ‘tops up’ your SMP, then this was included as a staffing cost and so your employer could claim to pay you through the scheme. The same applies to contractual adoption pay, paternity pay and shared parental pay.
How will the Job Support Scheme Affect Your Annual Leave Holiday Allowance?
The Government is yet to confirm how the job support scheme will impact your annual holiday leave. 'A change like this is unprecedented, it’s going to take businesses time to understand what these changes mean for holiday allowance and beyond, at least until it filters through Acas (the Advisory, Concillation and Arbitration Service),' says Lucinda Aspinall, HR advisor. 'If someone is only working two days but being paid for more than that it creates a lot of complications and businesses will have to consult with their legal teams to fully understand the implication on their staff and the various leave options. I imagine it will be a few days or even weeks before employers can issue guidance on this.'