The Chancellor has made some announcements in his Summer Statement that will be of interest to employers, we look at what we know so far below.
Furlough
Whilst it has been confirmed that the furlough scheme will end on 31st October 2020, in what will be welcome news to some employers the Chancellor has announced that there will be a job retention bonus for employers who bring back furloughed staff.
Whilst we don’t have full details of how this will work yet, the Chancellor has said that:
- The government will pay a £1,000 bonus to businesses for each furloughed person brought back and continuously employed through to January
- Employees must be paid at least £520 on average in each month from November to January (the equivalent of the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions)
- Employees shouldn’t be brought back just for the sake of it, they should be doing decent work
Whilst the Chancellor has acknowledged that the government can’t protect every job, they have said that they want to reward and incentivise employers who successfully bring employees back from furlough.
Apprentices
The Chancellor has announced that for the next six months they will pay employers to hire apprentices with a payment of £2,000 per apprentice aged 16-24 and £1,500 for apprentices aged 25 and over. This is on top of the existing £1k available to 16-18 year olds and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan – where that applies.’
The ‘Kickstart Scheme’
A £2bn ‘kickstart scheme’ has been announced to create more jobs for young people. The fund will subsidise six-month work placements for people between 16 and 24, who are at risk of long-term unemployment, where certain criteria are met.
We will keep you up to date with employment law developments, in the meantime if you have an employment law matter you would like assistance with, please do not hesitate to contact us as we are happy to help.