The Job Support Scheme

Here are some of the finer details of the Job Support Scheme (JSS):

– The Government has explained that an employee on the JSS will earn a minimum of 77% of their normal wages where the Government contribution has not been capped

– Employers using the JSS will also be able to claim the Job Retention Bonus for each employee which meets the criteria

– For the first three months of the scheme the employee must work at least 33% of their usual hours, after which time this threshold may change

– Working patterns may change after a minimum of 7 days and staff may ‘cycle’ on and off the scheme

– For every hour not worked by the employee, the Government and the employer will pay a third each of the usual hourly wage. The Government contribution will be capped at £697.92 per employee per month.

– Grant payments will be made in arrears but will not cover NICs or pension contributions

– The expectation is that employers cannot top up their employees’ wages above the two thirds of hours not worked at their own expense

– Employees cannot be made redundant or put on notice of redundancy during the period that their employer is claiming a grant under the JSS.

– Short-time working arrangements must be agreed with employees and recorded in writing. HMRC will inform employees directly with details of each claim and may request to see short-time working agreements. 
As an example, if an employee works 5 days a week and earns £350 a week and is put on the JSS working 2 days (40%), her employer pays her £140 for the days she works and for the days she doesn’t work she receives two thirds of her £210 pay, i.e. £140 of which £70 is paid by the employer and £70 by the Government. Thus she earns 70% of her normal wage.

If you need assistance with an agreement for short-time working with your employees contact help@yourhrpartner.co.uk

Categorised in: Employment law

This post was written by SKHR