Guidance

Examples to help you work out your employee's working time percentage

Published 30 October 2020

This guidance was withdrawn on

The Job Support Scheme, which was due to start on 1 November 2020, has been withdrawn.

© Crown copyright 2020

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-examples-to-help-you-calculate-your-employees-wages-for-the-job-support-scheme/examples-to-help-you-work-out-your-employees-working-time-percentage

1. Example of working out an employee’s working time percentage for an employer who is only claiming JSS Open

K Ltd pays its employees monthly. It claims under the Job Support Scheme, and its first claim period is 1 November to 30 November.

Kaleb and K Ltd agree a JSS Open temporary working agreement for the whole month. Every day in the period is a JSS Open day. Kaleb’s usual hours for this period are 160 hours, and he works for 50 hours.

K Ltd checks that Kaleb’s working time percentage is at least 20%:

  1. K Ltd adds together the hours Kaleb actually worked on each JSS Open day in the claim period: 50.

  2. K Ltd adds together the Kaleb’s usual hours calculated for the JSS Open days in each pay period in the claim period: 160.

  3. K Ltd divides the result of step 1 by the result of step 2 to calculate the working time percentage: 50÷160 = 31.25%.

Kaleb’s working time percentage is 31.25%, which is more than 20%, so K Ltd’s JSS Open claim is valid.

2. Example of working out an employee’s working time percentage for an employer who is claiming both JSS Open and JSS Closed

L Ltd pays its employees weekly on a Saturday. It claims through the Job Support Scheme, and its first claim period is 1 November 2020 to 28 November 2020.

Leah’s usual hours for the pay period 1 November 2020 to 7 November 2020 are 35 hours, and she works for 10 hours.

Tier 3 restrictions are introduced from 11 November 2020 and the business is forced to close until December. In the pay period 8 November to 14 November, L Ltd claims for Leah through both JSS Open and JSS Closed.

Her usual hours for the JSS Open days (8 November 2020 to 10 November 2020) are 15 hours, and she works for 6 hours on those days.

In the pay periods 15 November 2020 to 21 November 2020 and 22 November 2020 to 28 November 2020 L Ltd claims for Leah through JSS Closed only, so it does not need to calculate her usual hours for this period. L Ltd checks that Leah’s working time percentage is at least 20%:

  1. L Ltd adds together the hours Leah actually worked on each JSS Open day in the claim period:10 + 6 = 16.

  2. L Ltd adds together Leah’s usual hours calculated for the JSS Open days in each pay period in the claim period: 35 + 15 = 50.

  3. L Ltd divides the result of step 1 by the result of step 2 to calculate the working time percentage: 16÷50 = 32%.

Leah’s working time percentage is 32%, which is more than 20%, so L Ltd’s JSS Open claim is valid.

3. Example of working out an employee’s working time percentage where the percentage varies across the claim period

M Ltd pays its employees weekly on a Saturday. It claims under the Job Support Scheme, and its first claim period is 1 November 2020 to 28 November 2020.

Matt and M Ltd agree a JSS Open temporary working agreement for 1 November 2020 to 28 November 2020. Every day in the period is a JSS Open day:

  • in the pay period 1 November 2020 to 7 November 2020, Matt’s usual hours are 30 hours and he works for 10 hours
  • in the pay period 8 November 2020 to 14 November 2020, Matt’s usual hours are 30 hours and he works for 5 hours
  • in the pay period 15 November 2020 to 21 November 2020, Matt’s usual hours are 30 hours and he works for 5 hours
  • in the pay period 22 November 2020 to 28 November 2020, Matt’s usual hours are 30 hours and he works for 3.5 hours

M Ltd checks that Matt’s working time percentage is at least 20% for 1November to 28 November 2020:

  1. M Ltd adds together the hours Matt actually worked on each JSS Open day in the claim period:10+5+5+3.5=23.5.

  2. M Ltd adds together the Matt’s usual hours calculated for the JSS Open days in each pay period in the claim period: 30+30+30+30=120.

  3. M Ltd divides the result of step 1 by the result of step 2 to calculate the working time percentage: 23.5÷120 = 19.58%. Matt’s working time percentage for 1 November 2020 to 28 November 2020 is 19.58%, which is less than 20%, so M Ltd cannot claim JSS Open for this period. However, M Ltd can disregard 22 November 2020 to 28 November 2020. The disregarded days will not be included in the calculations. M Ltd checks that each remaining day is part of a ‘block’ of at least 7 consecutive JSS Open days or JSS Closed days. The days from 1 November 2020 to 21 November 2020 form a block of 21 consecutive JSS Open days, so this condition is met.

  4. M Ltd checks Matt’s working time percentage again without the disregarded days: M Ltd adds together the hours the Matt actually worked on JSS Open days in the claim period: 10+5+5=20.

  5. M Ltd adds together the Matt’s usual hours calculated for the JSS Open days in each pay period in the claim period: 30+30+30=90.

  6. M Ltd divides the result of step 1 by the result of step 2 to calculate the working time percentage: 20÷90 = 22.22%

Matt’s working time percentage for 1 November 2020 to 28 November 2020 is 22.22% when disregarding 22 November 2020 to 28 November 2020. This is more than 20%, so M Ltd can claim JSS Open.

M Ltd must be careful not to include the days 22 November 2020 to 28 November 2020 (or any working hours or usual hours on those days) in any of its other calculations – such as when it calculates the JSS Open grant.

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