UK gets creative: job bonus and eating out schemes announced

LONDON (AP) — The British government introduced a new bonus scheme on Wednesday that it hopes will limit the anticipated spike in unemployment as a result of the pandemic and announced a series of support measures for hard-pressed firms in the tourism and hospitality sectors.

Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said his latest major intervention is aimed at weaning the U.K. economy off emergency measures announced when the country was put into lockdown in March, while at the same time protecting and generating as many jobs as possible during the recession.

“People need to know that although hardship lies ahead, no-one will be left without hope,” he told socially distanced lawmakers.

In his statement, Sunak outlined incentives for businesses to retain and hire staff, funding for training and environmental projects, some tax cuts, particularly for those in tourism and hospitality, and a new “Eat Out to Help Out” discount scheme.

So far, Britain has been spared the sharp rises in unemployment seen in the U.S. for example, because of the Job Retention Scheme, whereby the government has been paying up to 80% of the salaries of workers retained rather than dismissed, up to 2,500 pounds ($3,125) a month. Some 1.1 million employers have taken advantage of the scheme to furlough 9.4 million people at a cost to the government of 27.4 billion pounds.

While confirming that the scheme will end in October, Sunak said the government is introducing a new one that could cost up to 9.4 billion pounds if everyone who has been furloughed is given his or her job back. Under this scheme, the government will pay companies a 1,000-pound bonus for each employee they take back.

“Leaving the furlough scheme open forever gives people false hope that it will always be possible to return to...