Rishi Sunak prepares UK economy for 'permanent adjustment'

The UK economy is no longer hibernating; it is ‘adjusting’. Today’s measures announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak are designed to help an economy expected to limp through the coming months, quite painfully in certain areas, hopefully on its way to recovery. But are they enough?

The role of the government and the employer has switched: the six month jobs support scheme will see the state contribute to workers’ wages if needed, but now the employer will be paying over 50 per cent of the costs, with the government paying 22 per cent. The critical difference is that employees must be working in order to receive the subsidies: a minimum of a third of their normal working hours – paid by their employer – with non-working hours topped up a third by government, a third by their employer, and a third forgone. This means a worker putting in 33 per cent of their hours can get 77 per cent of their pay.