The Government last night announced their plans for a second lockdown in England, find out what it might mean for you.
Whilst last nights news of a second lockdown across England had been talked about the confirmation will be leaving people feeling a number of emotions and leaving them with a number of a questions.
From Thursday England will go in to lockdown again until at least the 2nd December. Schools, colleges and universities will remain open but only essential shops and takeaway’s will be allowed to still do business. For any non-essential workers they will again be encouraged to work from home, not necessarily a new message for some. The Prime Minister specifically mentioned that those in the construction industry can still work, we anticipate many businesses making big decisions about their next steps in the days and weeks ahead.
What is happening to the furlough scheme?
The furlough scheme has been extended, with some additional support put in place for employers. The coronavirus job retention scheme subsidises the wages of workers who can’t work because their businesses is closed or if there is a decline in work because of the pandemic.
Is it different this time?
Employees will not notice a difference but the scheme has been amended to make things easier for employers. This time around the government will be covering 80% of the contributions with employers only being asked to cover national insurance and pension contributions (previously employers were contributing 20% of the 80%).
Who can claim?
To be eligible employees must have been on the payroll by 30 October 2020, but they don’t need to have been furloughed before.
While the government updates the system, employers will submit their wage claim to the government, and be refunded afterwards. After that, they will be paid upfront to cover the cost.
What happens after 2nd December?
At the moment the plans after the 2nd December is that the regions will then be classed into tiers again with the Job Support Scheme kicking in.
Will we definitely be out of lockdown on 2nd December?
Whilst we have been told this lockdown will be for a month, there are no guarantees decisions will be made based on the number of infections . The best chance we have of coming out of the lockdown on this date is to ensure we all follow the rules and try our best to work through these next few weeks.
Read about the rules in Scotland
