Following the announcement of a second national lockdown, Rishi Sunak has extended the Furlough Scheme until 2nd December.
The Government have also announced some further extensions of support, and there may well be more to follow.
The Job Retention Scheme.The Job Retention Scheme (JRS) that was due to end yesterday will be extended until 2nd December, and the Job Support Scheme is delayed until the JRS ends.
The extended scheme is expected to be in-line with the existing JRS, and it will:
- apply to employees on full furlough or working part-time;
- with employees receiving 80% of their normal wages for furloughed hours;
- the Government will pay 80% of the normal wages for the furloughed hours, capped at £2,500 per month for full furlough;
- the employer will pay National Insurance and pension contributions and meet the costs of hours worked.
At this stage, it is unclear whether or not it will be possible to reverse redundancies implemented in accordance with the original deadline. Further details on this point and more regarding the JRS changes are due to follow in the coming days.
Business Grants
Businesses that are required to shut their premises due to the National or Local Lockdown will qualify for business grants. The grant depends on the rateable value of the property but for premises with a rateable value:
- below £15k the grant is £1,334 per month;
- from £15k to £51k the grant is £2,000 per month; and
- of £51k or over the grant is £3,000 per month.
Mortgage payment holidays
The mortgage payment holiday scheme will not end and borrowers who are adversely affected by COVID and have not yet had a mortgage payment holiday can claim for up to 6 months, and those who have already started a mortgage payment holiday can top this up to 6 months.
The FCA will give more details on Monday.
Self-Employed
Although nothing has been announced for the self-employed, we would expect that the grants under the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme would be increased in line with the extension of the JRS, and await to see an announcement on this.
If you require guidance on any of these changes, please contact your TC adviser on 0330 088 7111 or our HR team at hr@tc-group.com.