The Job Support Scheme

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced today that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Furlough Scheme) will end as planned on 31 October 2020. However, he has provided some much needed relief for employers who have been hard hit by the Coronavirus in announcing the Government's new initiative to support struggling employers, the Job Support Scheme (the Support Scheme). The stated aim of the Support Scheme is to support viable businesses to retain viable jobs in what will undoubtedly be a continued period of significant economic uncertainty.

The Chancellor was clear that the reason for ending the Furlough Scheme rather than extending it further is that, in the Government's view, it is wrong to support people in jobs that only exist because of the Furlough Scheme. Instead, the Government's stated aim is to target its assistance to areas where it can do the most good, namely, in supporting people back to work in viable jobs which provide genuine security.