Chancellor Rishi Sunak extends the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and announces changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Details from Rishi Sunak announcement: 

"I know people have been waiting to hear and I understand people have been anxious. Today I made two announcements on the future of our emergency schemes.

Firstly I confirmed that the self-employment income support scheme will be extended, with applications opening in August. The second final grant will be paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of average monthly profits.

To maintain fairness alongside the job retention scheme the value of the final grant will be 70%, up to a total of £6,570.

I also mapped out how Flexible Furloughing will work. In June and July, the scheme will continue as before, with no employer contribution at all. The government will pay 80% of furloughed people’s wages, up to a maximum of £2,500. The Flexible Furlough will start in July, one month early.

In August, the taxpayer contribution to people’s wages will stay at 80%. Employers will only be asked to pay National Insurance and employer pension contributions. This accounts for just 5% of average employment costs.

By September, employers will have had the opportunity to make changes to their workplaces and business practices. Only then, in the final 2 months of the 8-month scheme, will we ask employers to contribute 10% towards people’s salaries with taxpayers paying the other 70%.

In October, taxpayers will pay 60%, and employers will contribute 20%. Then, after eight months of this extraordinary intervention of the government stepping in to help pay people’s wages, the scheme will close.

We’ve worked hard to put the flexible furlough in place not from August 1st, as originally planned, but from July 1st, one month early. Employers will have complete flexibility to decide on the right arrangements for them and their staff.

To introduce this new, flexible furlough from July 1st, we need to close the old scheme to new entrants on June 30th."

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