With the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme coming to an end in October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has today announced several measures to support jobs in the country.

Supporting Jobs

UK Employers will receive a one-off bonus of £1,000 for each furloughed employee that is still employed as of 31 January 2021.

A £2 billion Kickstart Scheme which will aim to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs for young people aged 16-24 which will be fully subsidised by the scheme.

Businesses will be given £2,000 for each new apprentice that they here under the age of 25, this is in addition to the existing £1,000 already provided for 16-18 year old apprentices.

Creating Jobs

Homeowners and landords in England will be able to apply for vouchers from a £2 billions Green Homes Grant scheme to pay for green improvements such as loft, wall and floor insulation that could save hundreds of pounds a year on energy bills while creating thousands of jobs for tradespeople.

Protecting Jobs

A new “Eat Out to Help Out” discount scheme has been announced that will provide a 50% reduction for sit-down meals in cafes, restaurants and oubs across the UK from Monday to Wednesday every week throughout August 2020.

The VAT rate on most tourism and hospitality related activities will be cut from 20% to 5%.

It is hoped that these two measures will support over 2.4 million staff at over 150,000 businesses.

Stamp Duty

A temporary increase to the Nil Rate Band on Residential SDLT from £125,000 to £500,000 until 31 March 2021, it is estimated that 9 out of 10 people getting on, or moving up, the property ladder will pay no Stamp Duty under this scheme with the aim of driving growth and supporting jobs across the housebuilding and property sectors.

More information can be found on the government website here.