Rishi Sunak announces end of furlough and launches new 'jobs support scheme'

24 September 2020, 12:31 | Updated: 24 September 2020, 13:05

By Alice Dear

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a new scheme to help protect jobs through the winter months.

Rishi Sunak announces Jobs Support Scheme

Rishi Sunak confirmed the end of furlough support today as he announced the arrival of a new scheme named the 'jobs support scheme'.

The jobs support scheme has been bought in across the UK in a bid to support viable jobs during the coming winter months.

Speaking in the House of Commons today, Rishi Sunak said: "I cannot save every business, I cannot save every job", but added: "What we can and must do is deal with the real problems businesses and employees are facing now."

Through the new jobs support scheme, the Government will directly support the wages of people in work "giving businesses who face demand the option of keeping employees in a job on shorter hours rather than making them redundant".

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Because the new scheme is supporting "viable jobs", employees must work at least a third of their normal hours and be paid for that work as normal by the employer.

The Government will then increase the wages covering two thirds of the pay they have lost by reducing their working hours.

Most importantly, the employee will be able to keep their job.

The Government are also targeting this support at businesses that "need it the most".

The Chancellor announced that this scheme will run for six months, and will start in November 2020.

This new scheme has come into place as the UK prepare to say goodbye to the furlough scheme, which allowed millions to keep their jobs through lockdown.

Over that time, a total of 9.6million jobs were furloughed, costing the taxpayer £39.9billion so far.

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