Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – Furlough ending September 2021.
Now that the economy is beginning to recover, the government are encouraging employers to bring back their employees to regular hours.
Economists have warned that the decreasing financial support from the government could hit some businesses hard. The concern is that history will repeat itself, as the enabling of furlough measures July-September 2020 led to a record-high of 181,000 redundancies as employers started panicking.
Employers will need to choose whether to take back their furloughed workers or make them redundant. If you are fronting redundancy, it's essential to apply for any support schemes as soon as possible. The main benefit for anyone losing their job after a period in work is the new-style jobseeker's allowance (JSA). New Style JSA is a fortnightly sum that can be claimed on its own or at the same time as Universal Credit. If you qualify, you can get New Style JSA for up to 182 days.
As an employer, it can be difficult making your employees redundant. Here are some alternatives to redundancy; Before considering making a redundancy, you need to consider all other options.
Reducing working hours - You could change an employee’s contract, such as hours and the place of work. This could be a short-term or eternal change, and all changes must be agreed with the employee.
Temporary lay-offs - You can agree with employees that they will not work for a while. This is known as a temporary lay-off—and must be a short-term solution and not a permanent change to approved working hours.
Move employees into other jobs - If your business needs have changed or you’ve restructured your business, you could move an employee into a different job role, with their approval. If you’re making any changes to an employee’s job role, you must make sure you bring up to date their employment contracts accordingly.
For more help and information regarding the coronavirus job retention scheme, please contact one of our team today on 0161 302 8790