Rishi Sunak has taken to the House of Commons to announce new economic measures to prevent mass job loss when the Jobs Retention Scheme ends at the end of October. The Government has been urged by public figures, business leaders and politicians to find an alternative to the furlough scheme, which has paid wages of workers up and down the country since March.
The furlough scheme has been winding down since August, with plenty of concern for what will replace the flagship scheme.
He said: “The furlough was the right policy at the time we introduced it…but as the econ reopens, it is fundamentally wrong to hold people in jobs that only exist inside the furlough”.
The Chancellor has outlined the following three main pillars of the Winter Economy Plan.
- Support viable jobs – to make sure that employees must work a third of their normal hours, paid as normal by the employer, with a top up provided by the Government.
- Six months of targeted support at firms that need it the most – mostly smaller and medium sized businesses, with larger firms allowed to apply if turnover has fallen.
- Extending the existing self employment grant as it currently stands.
In total, the new Job Support Scheme is expected to cost around £500 million compared to the £40 billion bill for the furlough scheme.
Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds said the Government must ensure the coronavirus support measures announced are as “effective as possible” and do not result in job losses that the furlough scheme aimed to prevent.
She said: “If the package of measures announced today can help people keep their jobs, and can help businesses through hard times, then Labour will of course support it.
“And there’s much in this statement we do support. As I’ve just said, we’ve repeatedly called for a system of targeted wage support and we’ve repeatedly called for help for indebted cash-strapped businesses over and over again.
“But we must ensure these measures are as effective as possible at keeping workers in employment, getting unemployed people back into work and keeping viable businesses in operation.”
