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ALMOST 20 per cent of workers are still on furlough new figures show today, sparking fears of mass unemployment.
Just 7 per cent of the workforce had come off the scheme between June 29 and July 12, according to research by the Office for National Statistics.
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Meanwhile 4 per cent of employees had returned to the workplace after months of doing their jobs from home.
Nine million employees have been rolled onto the scheme since it launched back in March as the UK went into lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Promisingly, around a third of employees had returned to their jobs in the hospitality industry in the first two weeks of July after pubs, cafes and restaurants were allowed to reopen.
But overall, 18.5 per cent of the workforce in all industries are still relying on the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme for income.
Can I be made redundant if I’m on furlough?
EVEN though furlough is designed to keep workers employed, unfortunately it doesn’t protect you from being made redundant.
But it doesn’t affect your redundancy pay rights if you are let go from your job amid the coronavirus crisis.
Your employer should still carry out a fair redundancy process.
You will be entitled to be consulted on the redundancy lay-off first and to receive a statutory redundancy payment, as long as you’ve been working somewhere for at least two years.
How much you’re entitled to depends on your age and length of service, although this is capped at 20 years. You’ll get:
- Half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22,
- One week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41,
- One and half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older.
Sadly, you won’t be entitled to a payout if you’ve been working for your employer for fewer than two years.
There should be a period of collective consultation as well as time for individual ones if your employer wants to make 20 or more employees redundant within 90 days or each other.
You are also entitled to appeal the decision by claiming unfair dismissal within three months of being let go.
If you’re made redundant after your company has gone into administration you can claim redundancy pay via Gov.uk.
Around 1.2million jobs are at risk of redundancy when the scheme ends, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) warned earlier this week.
Today, the government announced a new law to guarantee employees’ redundancy pay is calculated on their full wages and not reduced salaries.
Under the scheme government will pay 80 per cent of wages – up to £2,500 a month – if a member of staff has been furloughed.
Experts fear that a huge number of job losses are to come as the support is wound down from August 1.
The latest ONS data showed that around 38 per cent of employees are back at their normal workplaces but almost 39 per cent are still working from home.
It also showed stark differences between industries.
More than 90 per cent of staff in sectors like water treatment or IT were working but only around half of those in hotels, restaurants and leisure venues were back in jobs.
The researchers said that some 18 per cent of hotel and food service staff had gone back to work in the two weeks leading up to the survey period.
But added that one in eight businesses in the hospitality and leisure industry were not planning on reopening in the next few weeks.
Employers are expected to pay furloughed workers’ national insurance and pension contributions from next month.
The amount the government pays will drop from September and again in October until the scheme ends.
Earlier today, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “We urge employers to do everything they can to avoid making redundancies, but where this is unavoidable it is important that employees receive the payments they are rightly entitled to.”
Before employers axe jobs, there should be a period of collective consultation as well as time for individual ones if your employer wants to make 20 or more employees redundant within 90 days or each other.
If you’re worried about the future of your job, we’ve put together a guide of your redundancy rights.
Competition for jobs is already high, as new research found that more than eight people are applying for each new vacancy as unemployment rises faster than during the Great Depression.
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