The Job Support Scheme will run for six months from 1 November 2020. The Scheme acts as a wage subsidy for employers that are unable to offer their employees full-time hours.
To be eligible, employees must work for at least one-third of their standard working hours. For the remaining hours not worked the employer pays a third, the government pays a third and the employee receives no pay for the remaining third.
The Scheme has been established to help those in ‘viable’ jobs.
For example, an employee usually earns £2,000 a month but, under the Job Support Scheme, they are working half of their hours. The employer pays the £1,000 for their time. Of the remaining £1,000 (where the employee is not working) the employer pays a third and the government pays a third. Overall, in this example, the employee takes home £1,666 a month and is working for half of their contractual hours.
A ‘viable’ job is still quite loosely defined. Presently, a viable job is one where there is a current need for it but not yet at full capacity. An example of a viable job would be waiting staff at a restaurant that is reopening a few days a week.
Under the Job Support Scheme, employers will be paying more than they did under the Furlough Scheme. Under the Furlough Scheme, the government paid 80% of workers’ wages but under the Job Support Scheme, the government will only be paying a maximum of 22% (a third of a third).
