Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of Exchequer has openly admitted, “There is hardship ahead for many people,” as furlough ends.
The furlough scheme was designed to save jobs during the coronavirus pandemic but it is coming to an end in October and with it will come a wave of redundancies.
Interviewed here by Sky News he said ending the furlough scheme was “one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in this job”.
He added: “If you look at it from start to finish, the government will have been stepping in to help pay people’s wages for almost eight months – an extraordinarily long period of time.
“I think most reasonable people would look at that and say that’s not something that’s obviously sustainable in the long run.
“In common with many other countries around the world – their versions of this are all coming to the end towards the end of this year.
“I don’t think it’s fair to extend (furlough) indefinitely. It’s not fair to the people on it. We shouldn’t pretend there is, in every case, a job to go back to.
“This is what we need to do now, it’s to look forward, provide the opportunities for tomorrow. Yes, there is hardship ahead for many people, we know that, but they shouldn’t be left without hope.”
Under the furlough scheme, the government has covered 80% of staff salaries up to £2,500 each month since March – but that support is decreasing ahead of the scheme’s end in October. Already hundreds of thousands of employees have been advised that their roles are now at risk of redundancy.
Are you about to be made redundant?
Rhian Radia, Employment Law Partner at Bishop and Sewell says: “It’s important to remember the Chancellor’s last statement, ‘People shouldn’t be left without hope’.”
“We can help you intelligently challenge the business rationale around a redundancy decision – and any decision to place you in a particular pool for selection during a redundancy consultation process.
“We can also advise you on how to challenge unfavourable scoring so that it actually makes a difference. Where it appears that you will be selected regardless, we can help with strategies for trying to maximise any payment made to you.
Been made redundant?
The Employment Law team also offer support to employees who have been made redundant and can advise you whether you are in time to make a claim.
Rhian continues: “We often assist in cases where we can assess whether your claim is limited to one of unfair dismissal (arising out of redundancy) or whether you have further claims in respect of other rights that your employer might have breached. Using an experienced lawyer to do this could maximise any settlement or compensation award to ensure that no potential claims are missed.
Sometimes the only way forward is to bring a claim. We can help you file your claim with the Employment Tribunal to show your employer that you are serious about making a stand about unfair treatment.
As an employee, you should feel secure in your job and you have employment rights. From discrimination to unfair dismissal, when you feel your employer is unfairly treating you, we are committed to helping you.
Bishop & Sewell acts for individuals at all levels and across all industry sectors and will always be on your side in any employment dispute. We will advise you in an easy-to-understand and cost-effective way, explaining what your options are.
As part of our service, we will provide you with a cost-benefit analysis, which sets out the options open to you, the likely cost and any particular risks that you should bear in mind.
Whilst there are likely to be difficult times ahead, it is important to know your rights.
Next steps
For initial advice or to arrange a meeting with one of our team, please email employment@bishopandsewell.co.uk or contact 020 7631 4141 and ask to speak to our Employment team.
The above is accurate as at 27 August 2020. The information above may be subject to change during these ever-changing times.
The content of this note should not be considered legal advice and each matter should be considered on a case by case basis.
