UK extends 80 per cent wage subsidies

LONDON: Britain’s government will extend by a month its costly coronavirus wage subsidies to ensure workers who are temporarily laid off receive 80 per cent of their pay, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as he announced a new England-wide lockdown. Britain introduced the 80 per cent wage subsidy scheme in March and it had been due to expire on Saturday to be replaced with a more targeted and less generous support. The scheme supported 8.9 million jobs at its peak, and had been forecast to cost around 52 billion pounds ($67.28 billion) over its eight-month lifespan. Firms will have to contribute 5 per cent of the employment costs for workers covered by the extension, the finance ministry said. It also said a mortgage payment holiday scheme would be extended for households and business premises which are required to close because of coronavirus restrictions would get grants of up to 3,000 pounds ($3,881) a month. Mortgage borrowers impacted by the pandemic and who have not yet had a payment break will be entitled to a six-month holiday, while those that have already started a payment holiday will be able to top up to six months, the ministry said. — Reuters