HM Treasury has just announced a change to the Job Support Scheme which comes into force from 1 November for the whole of the UK. Previously, employees had to be working 33% of their hours to qualify, with the employer then picking up 33% of the cost of the unworked hours, and the Government paying the remaining 33%.

Now, employees can qualify for the scheme if they work only 20% of their normal hours.  For unworked hours, employers will now only need to contribute 5%, and the government will pick up the remaining 61.67% of the cost.   That means that if someone was being paid £587 for their unworked hours, the government would be contributing £543 of the cost and their employer only £44.

Employers using the scheme will also be able to claim the Job Retention Bonus (£1,000 per employee) for each employee meeting the eligibility requirements of that scheme.