The announcement of three tiers denoting the level of pandemic control restrictions required has led to Chancellor Rishi Sunak overhauling his previous announced financial support packages.
The three tiers (1,2,3) equate to medium, high and very high alert levels and all restrict the activity of the population, but tiers 2 and 3 severely impact businesses and the economy.
Under the revised package, the replacement for furlough, the Job Support Scheme, has been updated so that employees are only required to work a fifth of usual hours in order to still receive up to 73 percent of normal salary. The burden of the employer has been significantly reduced with the employer only required to provide 5 percent of pay for unworked hours - the government now providing 61.67 percent of pay.
It gets a little complicated with various caps and limits but we have produced a Job Support Scheme Calculator to help provide an estimate for people wondering how much they will get paid on reduced hours.
People who work for businesses that are forced to close completely will be fully supported by the government with an expanded grant scheme for employee pay - paying two thirds of pay capped to £2,100 per month.
Self employed people also see a boost to the amount paid under the SEISS scheme. Previously this was capped to 20 percent of average profits, but this has now changed to 80 percent for November, 40 percent for December and 40 percent for January. The maximum third SEISS grant is capped to £5,160. Use our updated SEISS Calculator to see how much the grant would be for you.
There are also business grants available via local authorities for the hardest hit businesses in high-alert level tier areas. The businesses do not have to stop trading. The grants for those that are stopping trade are worth 30 percent more, up to £3,000 per month. The amounts paid are limited based on the business rates rateable value of the business:
| Rateable Value | Monthly Grant |
|---|---|
| £15,000 or under | £934 |
| over £15,000 and below £51,000 | £1,400 |
| £51,000 and over | £2,100 |