What does the Winter Economy Plan mean for me?

Last updated 25/9/20

This week the Chancellor announced plans to give additional financial support to some of those affected by lost income due to coronavirus. Read on to find out what these are, whether you can benefit, and what to do if you can’t.

The Job Support Scheme

This scheme will start on the 1st of November and run for six months.

Under the Job Support Scheme, the government will top up some of the wages of some employees who are working fewer hours than usual due to reduced demand.

Employers will continue to pay the wages of staff for the hours they work – but for the hours not worked, the government and the employer will each pay one third of their equivalent salary. So if you’re working 33% of your usual hours, you should receive 77% of your usual pay – up to a cap.

The Government hasn’t yet said when employers will have to apply to take part, or how much notice employees must be given – we’ll share more details when we have them. In the meantime, here are some things you need to know:

• To be eligible, employees must be working at least 33% of their usual hours, and have been on the payroll since on or before the 23rd September 2020.
• The level of top up grant from the government will be calculated based on the employee’s usual salary, capped at £697.92 per month.
• Although the scheme is designed to replace the furlough scheme, businesses can be eligible whether or not they furloughed employees.
• All small and medium-sized businesses are eligible. Larger businesses can take part, but they must prove they’ve been adversely affected by coronavirus, and can’t pay dividends to their shareholders while using the scheme.

The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme

This scheme has now been extended for a further two taxable grants: from November to January, and then from February to April. We’re awaiting information on when applications will open: we’ll share more details when we have them. Here’s what we know so far:

• The third (November-January) grant will cover 20% of trading profits for three months, capped at £1,875. It’ll be paid in a single instalment. We don’t yet know how much the fourth grant (February-April) will pay. the Government has also reserved the right to change the eligibility criteria for the fourth grant.
• As with the previous rounds of grants, the third and fourth will usually be based on an average of your profits as reported in your tax returns for 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19.
• Only those eligible for the current SEISS can apply:
  • you must have filed a tax return for 2018/19
  • you must earn more than 50% of your total income from self-employment
  • your average trading profit must be no more than £50,000/year
  • and you need to have been adversely affected by coronavirus.

I’ve lost income but I’m not eligible for either of these – what can I do?

• Use our free, independent benefit checker to see if you can claim any additional support.
• If you’ve been made redundant, take a look at our redundancy guide.
• If you’re one of our customers on a Debt Management Plan, IVA, Trust Deed or DAS, let us know as soon as your financial situation changes, so we can make sure you’re not paying more than you can afford into your debt solution. You can find details on how to contact us here.

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