The job support scheme will be available from 1 November for 6 months, and you will be able to claim this grant as well as the coronavirus job retention bonus (relating to those employees retained who were on furlough), so long as you meet the qualifying conditions for both.
The job support scheme will allow employees to claim a maximum contribution of 22% of an employee’s usual pay, up to a cap of £697.92. The percentage claimable will vary depending on the number of hours worked, but the minimum hours worked by an employee required to access the scheme is one third of their usual hours.
| Hours worked | 33.33% | 50.00% | 75.00% |
| Pay for actual hours (employer) | 33.33% | 50.00% | 75.00% |
| Pay for 1/3 of unworked hours (employer) | 22.22% | 16.67% | 8.33% |
| Percentage payable by employer | 55.55% | 66.67% | 83.33% |
| Add 1/3 paid by government grant | 22.22% | 16.67% | 8.33% |
| Total received by employee | 77.77% | 83.34% | 91.66% |
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| Example
Suzanne normally works full time (36 hours) in a restaurant and is paid £384 a week. However, the restaurant is suffering reduced sales due to the restrictions on the hospitality industry. Her employer has decided to put Suzanne on the Job Support Scheme, working 12 hours a week – One Third of her usual hours. Suzanne will be paid £298.66. This will cost the employer £128 for the hours worked by Suzanne, and £85.33 for the one third of the hours not worked. The government grant will cover the remaining £85.33. |
This new scheme will be available for all employees not just those that were previously furloughed. Equally the employer does not need to have accessed to the job retention scheme (furlough scheme) to access this scheme. It is expected that the first claims will be able to be made from December 2020.
The grant will not cover any employer’s national insurance costs or pension costs, and this will continue to be borne by the employer.
Eligible employees are those who were included on an FPS on or before 23 September 2020. They are required to work a third of their usual hours, however, there is potential that this percentage may increase after the first 3 months of the scheme, i.e. from 1 February 2021. Employees cannot be made redundant or put on redundancy notice during the period the employer is claiming a grant towards their wage cost.
You also will need to take into account employees who are on low earnings, and that reducing their pay could affect their entitlement to statutory absence pay, such as sick pay and maternity pay.
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