More information on the Job Support Scheme now available

HMRC have published more information on the Job Support Scheme – including how you can check if you are eligible and when you can make your first claim.

Job Support Scheme

The Job Support Scheme (JSS) will:

open on the 1‌^st of‌‌ ‌November 2020, and;
run for six months, until the 30^th of‌‌‌ ‌April 2021.

The government has said it will review the terms of the scheme in January 2021 and there are two variations to JSS – JSS Open and JSS Closed.

JSS Open

JSS Open will provide support to businesses that are open where employees are working shorter hours due to reduced demand. Employees will need to work at least 20% of their usual hours.

Employers will:

continue to pay employees for the hours they work,
pay 5% of the usual pay for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £125 per month, and
can top this up further if they choose.
need to cover all employer National Insurance and pension contributions.

This means employees should receive at least two thirds of their usual pay for hours not worked.

The UK government will pay a contribution of 61.67% of the usual pay for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £1,541.75 per month

The caps are reduced according to the proportion of hours not worked. Further guidance on this will be available on GOV‌‌‌‌.UK shortly.

JSS Closed

JSS Closed will provide support to businesses whose premises are legally required to close as a direct result of coronavirus restrictions set by one of the four governments of the UK. This includes:

premises restricted to delivery or collection-only services from their premises, and,
those restricted to providing food and/or drinks outdoors.

For JSS Closed, the UK government will fund two thirds of employees’ usual wages for time not worked, up to a maximum of £2,083.33 per month.

Employers will:

not be required to contribute, but
can top up the government’s contribution if they choose to.
still need to cover all employer National Insurance and pension contributions.

You will be able to make your first JSS claim in arrears from the 8^th of‌‌‌ ‌December, for pay periods ending and paid in November. HMRC will let you know more about how to make a claim by the end of this month.

Employees will be able to check if their employer has made a Job Support Scheme claim on their behalf through their online Personal Tax Account. Employees can set up a Personal Tax Account on GOV‌‌‌‌.UK, by searching ‘Personal Tax Account: sign in or set up’.