UPDATED GOVERNMENT CORONAVIRUS SUPPORT – 24 SEPTEMBER 2020
Posted on September 25, 2020
- Jobs support scheme
- The Jobs Support Scheme will replace furlough from 1 November 2020 and will run for 6 months.
- Under the scheme, the government will subsidise the pay of employees who are working fewer than normal hours due to lower demand
- Employers will pay staff for the hours they do work
- For the hours employees can’t work, the government and the employer will each cover one third of the lost pay
- The government grant will be capped at £697.92 per month
- All small and medium sized businesses will be eligible for the scheme
- Larger business will be eligible if their turnover has fallen during the crisis
- It will be open to employers across the UK even if they have not previously used the furlough scheme
- Workers must do at least a third of their normal hours
- It means someone working a third of their hours would receive 77% of their pay
- It means the government will pay a maximum of 22% of someone’s wages, down from 80% at the start of the furlough policy
- So for someone on £2,000 a month working 50% hours, they would get £1,000 normal pay plus £333 extra from their employer and £333 from the government.
- 2. Support for the self-employed
- The chancellor is extending the self-employed grant on similar terms to the Job Support Scheme
- A grant will be available to those eligible for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme Grant
- The grant will cover three months’ worth of profits for the period from November to the end of January
- It will cover 20% of average monthly profits up to a total of £1,875
- A further grant may be available to the self-employed to cover February 2021 to the end of April, depending on circumstances
3. Business loans
- Bounce Back Loans will be extended from six years to 10, cutting monthly repayments by nearly half
- Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme lenders will also be able to extend the length of loans from the current maximum of six years to 10 years
- The chancellor is also extending the deadline for the government’s coronavirus loan schemes to the end of November
- Businesses struggling can choose to make interest only payments for six months and those “in real trouble” can apply to suspend repayments altogether for six months
4. Taxes
- The 15% emergency VAT cut for the tourism and hospitality industries will be extended from January 2021 to 31 March
- Businesses who deferred their VAT bills will be able to pay back their taxes in 11 smaller interest-free instalments
- Self-assessment income taxpayers who need to will be given more time to pay