End of furlough scheme this week will create a ‘job loss bloodbath’ – the worst affected areas revealed

[ad_1]

MIDDLE-CLASS workers across the UK are set for a “job loss crisis” after the furlough scheme ends this week, experts are warning.

It comes as the number of adults on out-of-work benefits has already tripled in the hardest-hit towns and cities.

There are now 138,000 people on the dole across the 10 worst-affected areas – 75,000 more than last September

Across the ten worst-affected areas there are now 138,000 on the dole – 75,000 more than last September, the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) has found.

The research raises fears that even well-off communities will become job wastelands as they are hammered by the economic impact of Covid-19.

Some of the hardest hit areas, excluding the biggest cities, are Slough and Luton, which rely on big companies employing large numbers of workers.

If major cities had been included, London would be the fourth-worst hit, Birmingham and Manchester would be sixth, and Liverpool would be 11th.

What are my redundancy rights?

BEFORE making you unemployed, your employer should still carry out a fair redundancy process.

You are 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.

First reported by the Daily Mail, the CEBR focused on towns and regional cities in the research, given they typically find it harder to recover from recessions.

The gloomy figures are based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, showing the increase in the claimant count in the 12 months to September 10.

This combines those claiming Universal Credit who are looking for work, as well as those on Jobseeker’s Allowance.

In Slough, where Heathrow Airport is a big employer, the number of people looking for work has risen from 2.6% to 8.5% in a year.

And in Luton, where you can find Easyjet’s headquarters, the number has risen from 3% to 8.7%.

The travel industry is among those that have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, with Heathrow Airport and EasyJet both cutting jobs.

Meanwhile, the proportion of claimants in Blackpool has doubled to 11.7%, or 9,940 people, suggested it’s the top unemployment hotspot in Britain.

Local leaders in Blackpool, now subject to the harshest tier three restrictions, say it’s facing “the equivalent of three winters in a row”.

How the new part-time Job Support Scheme compares

Doug McWilliams, CEBR’s deputy chairman, said: ‘The middle class is likely to get hit much worse as we go on.

“A lot of management jobs have gone, a lot of professional jobs have gone, and some specialist ones.

“The middle classes have a jobs crisis – their pensions are squeezed and house prices will be lower.”

The warning comes as Chancellor Rishi Sunak last week expanded the Job Support Scheme, which will replace the furlough scheme when it ends on October 31.

The scheme will run for six months from November 1 and will see the government cover the majority of workers wages.