On 8 July 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, set out the Government’s ‘Plan For Jobs’, designed to spur the UK’s recovery from the Coronavirus outbreak.
The key aspects of the plan are:
- Job Retention Bonus: A Job Retention Bous will be introduced to help firms keep furloughed workers. UK Employers will receive a one-off bonus of £1,000 for each furloughed employee who is still employed as of 31 January 2021.
- £2 billion Kickstart Scheme: The Kickstart Scheme will be launched to create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across the country. Those aged 16-24, claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment, will be eligible. Funding available for each six-month job placement will cover 100% of the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week – and employers will be able to top this wage up.
- Scaling up employment support schemes, training and apprenticeships: £1.6 billion will be invested to help people looking for a job. This investment includes:
- £2,000 for businesses, for each new apprentice they hire under the age of 25. This is in addition to the existing £1,000 payment the Government already provides for new 16-18-year-old apprentices and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
- £111 million to triple the scale of traineeships in 2020-21.
- £17 million to triple the number of sector-based work academy placements in 2020-21.
- Nearly £900 million to double the number of work coaches to 27,000; Over a quarter of a million more young people to benefit from an extra £32 million investment in the National Careers Service.
The Plan for Jobs document can be viewed here. A Government press release on the Chancellor’s statement can be viewed here.