The Government will pay less than a quarter of workers' salaries in Rishi Sunak's replacement for the Coronavirus furlough scheme.
The Chancellor said he wouldn't extend the furlough scheme, which saved thousands of jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead he today announced a new 'Jobs Support Scheme' - which will top up the wages of employees in "viable jobs".
He said it would give businesses the option of keeping people in work on shorter hours - at least a third of their normal hours - and be paid for that work by their employer.
But the Government will pay 22% of the overall wages of eligible workers. Meanwhile employers will be expected to pay 55% of wages, even if their staff are only working a third of their hours.