The Government has announced it will increase the reach of its winter support schemes, including the UK-wide Job Support Scheme (JSS) and business grants.
Job Support Scheme (JSS)
When originally announced, the JSS – which will come into effect on 1 November – saw employers paying a third of their employees’ wages for hours not worked and required employers to be working 33% of their normal hours.
Following yesterday’s announcement, the scheme will now provide different support to businesses depending on their situation – claims will now fall under ‘JSS Open’ or ‘JSS Closed’.
Please review the full HMRC guidance on the JSS here (information latest 23.10.2020)
‘JSS Open’
For employers who are legally permitted to remain open but have experienced reduced demand. JSS Open enables employers to retain staff on shorter hours whilst providing 66.67% of their normal salary.
How it Works
- Employee works a minimum of 20% of their usual hours, paid as normal.
- Employee then receives 66.67% of normal pay for hours not worked, with contributions from employer and Government.
- Employer contributes 5% of reference salary pay for hours not worked, with Government paying remaining 61.67% contribution up to £1,541.75 hours per month.
Eligibility
The business must:
- Be enrolled for PAYE online
- Have a UK, Channel Island or Isle of Man bank account.
- Some, or all employees are working reduced hours - employees must still be working for at least 20% of their usual hours.
- Employers with 250 or more employees must undertake a Financial Impact Test to demonstrate their turnover has remained equal or fallen (employers with less than 250 employees will not be required to do this).
‘JSS Closed’
For employers legally required to close as a result of restrictions put in place by one or more of the four governments of the UK. JSS Closed supports the wage costs of employees who have been instructed to cease work in eligible (closed) premises.
How it Works
Each employee who cannot work due to these restrictions will receive two thirds of their normal pay, paid by their employer and fully funded by the government, to a maximum of £2,083.33 per month. The employer has discretion to pay more than this if they wish.
Eligibility
The business must:
- Be enrolled for PAYE online
- Have a UK, Channel Island or Isle of Man bank account.
- One or more businesses premises has been legally closed by one or more of the four governments of the UK (not including premises closed by local public health authorities).
- Can only claim for periods during which the relevant coronavirus restrictions are in place.
How to Claim
The Job Support Scheme will be open from 1 November 2020 and run for 6 months, until 30 April 2021. Employers will be able to claim in arrears from 8 December 2020, with payments made after the claim has been approved. Neither the employer nor the employee needs to have benefitted from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to be eligible for the Job Support Scheme.
Further guidance on the steps that employers need to take to calculate and make a claim to the Job Support Scheme will be published by the end of October.
Employers will still be able to access the Job Retention Bonus in respect of employees claimed for through the JSS if they are eligible.
Please review the full HMRC guidance on the JSS here (information latest 23.10.2020)
