The Chancellor announces A Plan for Jobs

The Chancellor delivered his Summer Economic Update in Parliament today (8th July), with a key focus on jobs.

The update outlined a package of measures to support jobs in every part of the country, give businesses the confidence to retain and hire, and provide people with the tools they need to get better jobs.

Here are the key points for businesses to note:

VAT cut for hospitality and tourism

• A temporary VAT cut from 20% to 5% for food, accommodation and attractions
• Including cafes, restaurants, pubs, hotels, B&B's, campsites, cinemas and zoos.
• From 15th July 2020 - 12th January 2021

A Jobs Retention Bonus

• An incentive for employers to successfully bringing back furloughed staff
• If employers bring back a member of staff and employ them through to January 2021, you will receive a £1,000 reward
• Employers must pay an employees at least £520 on average in each month from November to January to qualify

Eat Out to Help Out

• A scheme for August 2020 to encourage people to eat out in cafes, restaurants and pubs
• Meals eaten at participating businesses will be 50% off, Monday to Wednesday
• Up to maximum discount of £10 per head, including children
• Businesses will need to register via a website (launching Monday 13th July) to be part of the scheme and claim money back
• Money will be paid back within 5 working days

Kickstart Scheme

• A job creation scheme for young people (aged 16 - 24) claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployement
• Government will pay the wages of new young employees for six months
• An initial £2billion to fund hundreds of thousands of jobs, and no cap on the number of places available

Employment and support schemes

• A total of £1.6 billion will be invested in scaling up employment support schemes, training and apprenticeships to help people looking for a job
• Businesses will be given £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire under the age of 25

Stamp Duty cut

• Stamp duty will be temporarily cut to reinvigorate the housing market
• The threshold for stamp duty will increase from £125,000 to £500,000
• With immediate effect until March 2021

Click here to read the full update from The Chancellor