Business

Rishi Sunak’s second wave support measures for jobs at a glance

 Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak sets outs his Winter Economy Plan to MPs in the House of Commons, London.
 Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak sets outs his Winter Economy Plan to MPs in the House of Commons, London.  Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak sets outs his Winter Economy Plan to MPs in the House of Commons, London.

British chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced fresh measures to replace the furlough scheme and help the UK economy to continue to recover during the second wave of coronavirus infections.

Here are the changes at a glance:

– The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), a form of wage subsidy for “viable” jobs, will replace the furlough scheme, which will be wound down next month.

– The JSS will allow staff to be paid by their employer for working at least a third of their usual hours, with the Government topping up the remaining two-thirds of their salary that would have otherwise been lost due to working reduced hours.

– All small and medium-sized businesses will be eligible for the wage support concept, which starts in November and runs for six months, but larger businesses will have to prove their profits have been hit by the pandemic.

– The current self-employed grant will be renewed on similar terms to the new Jobs Support Scheme, the Chancellor said.

– The temporary reduction of VAT rates from 20% to 5% for the hospitality and tourism sectors will be extended for a further two months, with a new deadline of March 31 2021.

– Business “bounce-back loans” will have a “pay-as-you-grow” element added, giving loanees 10 years rather than six years to repay the money, a move that will slash monthly repayments by almost half, according to the Chancellor.

– Those struggling to repay their bounce-back loans will be able to choose to make interest-only payments and “anyone in real trouble” will be permitted to suspend repayments all together for up to six months, said Mr Sunak.

– The deadline for taking out a coronavirus business interruption loan will be extended until November 30, with Mr Sunak also increasing the Government guarantee on them for up to 10 years.