The ink had hardly dried on the rules for the scheme when the Chancellor decided to increase the amount of support under the scheme and widen its scope. Employers will now be able to obtain support for any employees working at least 20% of their normal hours rather than the original 33%. Significantly the employer will now only pay 5% of pay for hours not worked and the Government will pay 61.67% up to a cap of £1,541.75 per month. This leaves the employee in the same position as originally envisaged under the scheme but significantly reduces the employer contribution.
