Yesterday (08/07/2020), Rishi Sunak announced a Summer economic update, designed to explain the actions of the government to help with job retention and unemployment.
To do this, he outlined the following in the summer economic update:
- Furlough is still to close on October 1st 2020 with gradual amendments to bring it to a close
- Job Retention Bonus – If an employer brings a furloughed employee back from furlough and that employee is paid £520.00 each month, through to January, the employer will receive a £1,000 bonus per employee
- Kick Starter Scheme – For each ‘kickstarter’ job, the government will cover the cost of 25 hours’ work a week at the national minimum wage for six months, training however, must be provided to help with longer term employment
- The government will pay employers £1,000.00 to take on trainees aged between 18-24 and will also provide £100m to create places on Level 2 & 3 courses
- From August 2020 to January 2021 the Government has confirmed that any company that hires an apprentice aged 16-24 will receive a £2,000 bonus, and those who hire apprentices aged 25 and over employers will be paid £1,500
- Individuals will be able to apply for vouchers to make their homes more energy efficient, the grants will cover at least 2/3rds of the cost, up to £5,000 per household or the full cost up to £10,000 for low income households. This will be able to be spent on loft, wall and floor insulation, eco-friendly boilers, heat pumps, double or triple-glazed windows, low-energy lighting and energy-efficient doors.
- Stamp Duty – Temporary stamp duty holiday. Currently there is no stamp duty on homes under £125,000, this has been increased to £500,000 until 31st March 2021. This will mean that 90% of the people buying a house, will not pay stamp duty.
- VAT – VAT for the hospitality and tourism sectors has been cut from 20% to 5% from 15th July 2020 until 12th January 2021, this is hoping to increase the number of people returning to pubs, restaurants and café’s etc.
- Eat Out to Help Out – During August, the government has announced that there will be a 50% reduction off meals from Monday – Wednesdays up to £10 per head at participating restaurants.
Source : HM Treasury
