Tynwald will this week be asked to approve a £1.8m restart scheme to get the unemployed back into work.

Employers will be paid a restart payment if they take on a worker who has been unemployed for at least three months.

Treasury member Bill Shimmins MHK will seek Tynwald support for the Manx Restart Scheme at this week’s sitting.

He will tell parliament that given the current economic climate, it is expected that large numbers of unemployed will struggle to find work without government support and may be unemployed for long periods.

The restart scheme aims to support up to 120 placements by offering financial support to employers willing take on the jobless.

Payments under the scheme will be equivalent to 70% of the wages capped at £356.65 for a 35 hour working week - plus 70% of the employer’s National Insurance contributions.

Restart payments can be made for up to 52 weeks.

But they can be paid only to one employee or to no more than 5% of the employer’s total workforce.

It is estimated that the scheme will cost £1.8m to be met out of Economic Recovery Fund.

An explanatory memorandum states that there is an appetite among local industry for a partnership approach with government to create new jobs.

The placements aim to provide training, skills development and experience leading to worker being taken on full-time.

Prospective employees will be matched to a company by an employment agency appointed by Treasury.

They don’t have to be in receipt of any social security benefits during the time they were out of work and they will be treated as being unemployed if they had been furloughed by a former employer.

Individuals will be directly employed by the employer, who can then claim back up to 70% of salary and employer’s National Insurance contributions.