The winners and losers of Rishi Sunak’s new plan for jobs

Linda J. Dodson

Workers have been spared from the prospect of mass redundancies when the furlough scheme comes to an end, with the Government announcing new measures to keep people in jobs. 

People who work at least a third of their usual hours will have their wages topped up by the state, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said. Under the new Job Support Scheme, employers will pay them in full for the hours they have worked. For the remaining hours not worked, the Government and employer will pay one third each.

An employee working a third of their usual hours would therefore receive around 77pc of their normal pay in total. The scheme will run for six months from November. However the impact of the measures will be uneven, with some benefitting while others are left behind. Here we take a look at the winners and losers. 

Table of Contents

Winners

People on or returning from furlough 

This could be game-changing for the three million people still on furlough and millions more who have since returned to work after being put on the Job Retention Scheme.

For many, especially those working in retail and hospitality, their positions are tenuous as some sectors are struggling to get back up and running. The wage subsidies could be key in convincing employers to keep them on at least part-time rather than making them redundant. 

The self-employed

Self-employed people will benefit from an extension to the grants the Government has already provided them with. Freelancers who face reduced demand over the winter months will be able to apply for a grant paying 20pc of their average monthly profits. This will cover them until the end of April 2021. 

They will also be able to spread out their tax due in January over the following 12 months.

This will provide a vital lifeline. Freelancers and contractors negatively affected by coronavirus were given two grants, however these only covered them for income lost over six months between March and August.

Small and medium-sized businesses 

All small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to access the new wage subsidies, called the Jobs Support Scheme, to keep on employees. They will also be able to extend the terms of their loans, including Bounce Back loans and Coronavirus Business Interruption loans, to up to 10 years. This will reduce their average repayment. 

The Government is also developing a new loan scheme, which will be announced in January. 

Losers 

Self-employed people who missed out last time

People who work for themselves and were not eligible for government support via its grant scheme will not be eligible for the wage subsidy package either. This includes those who have only recently gone freelance, those who make profits of more than £50,000 a year and company directors who pay themselves via dividends. 

Big businesses 

Large companies will only be able to make use of the jobs support scheme if their revenue has fallen as a result of the virus.

Even those who have been affected may struggle to change redundancy plans at such short notice. Companies intending to make people redundant at the end of furlough must give them notice on October 1. This means businesses have very little time to adapt their plans. 

Taxpayers 

The wage subsidies will be far cheaper than the Job Retention Scheme, however it will still add a significant amount to the billions taxpayers will have to foot to cover Covid-19 spending. Furlough cost around £11bn a month, while the new scheme will cost about £1bn a month, according to the Institute for Employment Studies, a research centre.

There has been some speculation over how the splurge will be paid for, including a wealth tax and hikes to capital gains rates, however nothing has been confirmed. 

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