Coronavirus job retention bonus
Kickstart scheme
Green jobs
Stamp duty cut

Announcing a package of measures, Sunak said the aim was to ‘give everyone the opportunity of good and secure work, so no one is left without hope. ‘Our plan for jobs has a clear goal – to protect, support and create jobs. We want to give business confidence to retain and hire.’

Coronavirus job retention bonus

Confirming that the coronavirus job retention scheme will be flexibly and gradually wound down through October, Sunak said the second phase of the economic recovery would focus on getting as many people as possible back from furlough and into jobs. ‘The economy contracted by 25% in two months, the same amount as it had grown over the previous 18 years. The most urgent challenge now is to halt job losses. ‘The truth is, calling for endless extensions to the furlough is just as irresponsible as it would have been back in June to end the scheme overnight. ‘Leaving the furlough scheme open forever gives false hope that people will return to the jobs they had before,’ the Chancellor said. To reward and incentivise employers to bring back employees, any employer who brings back a furloughed member of staff through to January 2021 will receive a £1,000 bonus per employee. this is conditional on the employee being paid at least £520 per month in November and December, equivalent to the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contributions. Sunak said that if all 9m furloughed employees return, then this policy will cost the government £9bn.

Kickstart scheme

Highlighting that the younger generation have been hardest hit by coronavirus disruption, with 700,000 leaving education this year and many more starting out on their careers, Sunak announced the Kickstart scheme for employers who create new jobs for any 16-24-year-old at risk of unemployment. The government will pay young people’s wages for six months, plus an amount for overheads, which will give employers a grant of around £6,500 for each employee taken
on. The funding is conditional on these being new jobs, paid at national minimum wage
and for at least 25 hours a week.
Employers will be able to apply from next month, with the first Kick-starters in jobs in the
autumn. Sunak said he is providing an initial £2bn to fund the scheme, with no cap on
the number of places available.
For the first time ever, the government will pay employers £1,000 to take on new
trainees, with the aim of tripling the number of level 2 and level 3 courses, at a cost of
£100m.
There is also extra funding for careers advice, and a tripling of the number of places in
sector-based work academies.
In addition, over the next six months the government will pay employers to create new
apprenticeships, with a grant of £2,000 per apprentice hired. There is a new bonus
payment of £1,500 for hiring those aged over 25.
The government is also providing £1bn to the Department for Work and Pensions, to
fund additional support to help those on universal credit get back into work.

Green jobs
The Chancellor announced a £2bn green home grant, to support a green-led recovery.
From September homeowners and landlords will be able to apply for vouchers to make
housing more energy efficient and to create local jobs.
The government will cover two thirds of the cost up to £5,000 per household, and up to
£10,000 for those on low incomes.
There is also £1bn of funding for developing energy efficiency in public sector building.

Stamp duty cut
The Chancellor pointed out that property transactions fell 50% in May, while house
prices fell for the first time in eight years.
To boost the housing market, Sunak announced a cut in stamp duty, increasing the
threshold for payment from the current £125,000 to £500,000. This is a temporary cut
until 31 March 2021 and will take effect immediately. Treasury estimates suggest the
average homebuyer will see their bill fall by £4,500, and nearly nine out of ten main
home buyers will pay no duty at all.