Peter Cheese, CEO of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, says:  

“We welcome the Government’s changes in making JSS Open more flexible and significantly increasing its contribution to wage costs, while reducing the amount that employers have to contribute. Our research with employers found that in its previous form, the JSS would have been unlikely to save a significant number of jobs, so hopefully these changes will help reduce employers’ redundancy plans.  

“However, the latest changes to the Job Support Scheme are very confusing for employers, given the new scheme is being introduced in ten days’ time, before the guidance on the now obsolete part-time Job Support Scheme had even been published.  

“It is crucial that guidance for employers on the new scheme is available as soon as possible. Small firms in particular will struggle to get to grips with the details of the new scheme, while there will be real challenges for a business that has outlets throughout England or in the other nations under different tier restrictions and have to claim under both the JSS Open and JSS Closed.  

“Longer-term Government needs to simplify its approach to wage subsidy support to create one clearly understandable national scheme that provides a base level of sufficient support for all worst hit firms with criteria restricting it to those most affected by the pandemic.” 

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