Scotland’s future workforce will be at the heart of rebuilding the economy following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said.
Announcing £10 million for a range of measures to recruit and retain apprentices, including additional funding for the Scottish Government’s Adopt an Apprentice programme, Ms Hyslop said the funding would help modern and graduate apprentices who are facing redundancy as a result of COVID-19 get back into work.
Ms Hyslop (above) said: “The young people who will make up our future workforce are among those who have been hardest hit by this pandemic. As such, it is crucial that we support them and ensure they are at the heart of our economic recovery from COVID-19.
“This targeted funding will extend the reach of our support for apprentices, including our Adopt an Apprentice programme. Combined with our commitment of at least £50 million for youth employment and the Youth Guarantee, we will ensure no one is left behind.
“Apprenticeships are not only valuable for our young people, they are a key way for all employers to invest in their workforce, and provide the skills the economy needs both now and in the future.
“Our focus is on protecting jobs, creating jobs, ensuring quality jobs and supporting skilled jobs. By taking this action to protect and support skilled jobs now, we will rebuild a stronger, fairer and greener future for Scotland.”
Frank Mitchell, Chair of Skills Development Scotland, said: “This welcome announcement underlines the importance of apprentices to the Scottish economy and the crucial role they will play in supporting individuals and businesses in the recovery from COVID-19.
“We will continue to liaise with the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board and other employer organisations on the development and delivery of employer incentives and subsidies. SDS is also fully engaged with the work Sandy Begbie is leading on the development of a jobs guarantee for young people in order to maximise the use of all available incentives towards the retention and recruitment of apprentices.”
Further immediate investment to support economic recovery from COVID-19 was set out last week by the Scottish Government, with additional funding for workforce training and digital technology announced.
The Flexible Workforce Development Fund, which helps employers upskill and reskill their existing workforce through college courses, will be increased from £10 million to £20 million.
Meanwhile a further £1.5 million will be invested into the Digital Boost programme – almost trebling the capacity of the initiative for the remainder of this financial year.
Think tank Resolution Foundation economist Daniel Tomlinson says the UK Government is NOT paying nine million people’s wages. He says the number of workers currently furloughed is half this amount …
From today, employers will start contributing towards the wage costs of furloughed employees (writes RESULTION FOUNDATION’s DANIEL TOMLINSON).
This significant first step in the phasing-out of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) carries real risks of increased redundancies – particularly for those in the hardest-hit sectors – and so attention should also focus on the important question of just how many people are furloughed today.
Despite significant easing of the lockdown and attention rightly focused on the large number of redundancies announced of late, it’s still common to hear the claim that nine million employees are being paid right now through the scheme. However, this is simply not true. Although it is true to say that in total nine million people have been furloughed for at least one three-week period since March, this cumulative figure does not reflect what’s happening right now. Rather, all the evidence suggests that the number of people furloughed today – as employer contributions towards furlough pay kick in – is likely to be at most half, and maybe even as low as one-third, of this nine million total.
For the millions of workers who have returned to active employment over the past three months, the JRS has served its purpose well. But it may be the case that more than one million employees in the hardest-hit hospitality and leisure industries are still furloughed.
It’s in this context that the impact of the across-the-board increases to employer contributions in August, September and October are a concern. Delaying future increases in JRS contributions for the hardest-hit sectors would help reduce the rise in unemployment forecast in the autumn.
There are not nine million people on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme today
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) has been a very successful and well-implemented policy intervention. It has supported household incomes in the face of an unprecedented shock, and maintained the crucial attachment between employees and their employer.
However, for many firms and employees it will have only ever been used on a temporary basis at the height of the economic shutdown. Many furloughed employees have since returned to work (some on ‘flexible furlough’ for part of their working hours), and a smaller group will have been made redundant already, even before today’s introduction of employer contributions.
But you wouldn’t know this from listening to our politicians and broadcasters. The Prime Minister, claimed on 24 July 2020 that his Government was “supporting the livelihoods of 9 million people now through furlough”. Similarly, the BBC reported on 28 July 2020 that “9.5 million people are using the scheme, the same as a week ago”.
This is wrong. Although the cumulative take-up of the scheme since its launch is in excess of nine million, the actual number of people using the scheme right now – on the day that employers are now required to start contributing to the payroll costs of furloughed employees – is undoubtedly much lower.
Figure 1 shows the increase in cumulative JRS take-up over time, as published by HM Revenue and Customs. These cumulative figures are now entirely meaningless when it comes to understanding the path of the economic recovery or the numbers of people who have been furloughed for a prolonged period of time.
Figure 1: Nine million people have been on the JRS at some point since its launch
All the evidence suggests that the number of people currently furloughed is at most half the nine million total, and could even be one-third of this level
In the absence of official statistics on furlough numbers over time, we can turn to other estimates of furloughing and coronavirus labour market effects from various Office for National Statistics (ONS) surveys, in order to get a sense of when take-up peaked and just how fast it has fallen.
Across the three available data sets stretching back to the announcement of lockdown on 23 March 2020, the consistent finding is that the number of people furloughed or away from work is likely to have peaked in late April at somewhere between seven and eight million employees (Figure 2). The upper end of this range is based on the ONS’s Business Impacts of Coronavirus Survey (BICS), which reported that 31 per cent of the private-sector workforce was furloughed in late April.
Figure 2: The number of people now furloughed is much lower than in late April
Since late April, the number of people furloughed or away from work looks to have fallen considerably. This is unsurprising given restrictions on non-essential retail were lifted on 15 June, and on many parts of hospitality and leisure on 4 July (in England).
The opening up of these parts of the economy, and the general increase in economic activity since the depths of lockdown, will have led to millions of employees returning to work.
For example, the number of people temporarily away from work above and beyond the usual level of temporary work absences (the red line in Figure 2) fell by 40 per cent between late April and late May. This will have been driven primarily by people coming off furlough, but also by reductions in the number of people away from work for other reasons such as shielding, self-isolating or for childcare.
Some of this decline will also be driven by moves off the JRS and into unemployment, although this is likely to be a relatively small part of the story to date as in May, June and July employers had not yet been asked to contribute anything towards the costs of furloughing their employees.
More up-to-date estimates come from the BICS for early July, which suggests that 16 per cent of the private-sector workforce was furloughed at this time. We estimate this equates to around five million people still on furlough at the start of the month.
At the other end of the range, the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OLS) shows that the proportion of those who report that they are employed but furloughed fell from 13 per cent of all workers in the period 18-21 June, to 8 per cent of all workers in the period 8-12 July.
This figure, which equates to three million employees, is at the lower end of the range we’d expect, and will have been affected by the introduction of flexible furloughing from 1 July. Many employees who returned to work part-time in July will not have been counted as furloughed in these OLS estimates, but may well have still have the majority of their pay provided through the JRS (and will appear in some of the other series shown in Figure 2).
It would be unwise to lean too heavily on this or any other estimate from one particular survey in drawing conclusions as to the number of people furloughed today. The use of flexible furlough in July could mean that the pace of decline in take-up slowed last month as employees moved from full to flexible furlough, rather than off the scheme altogether. To date there is little evidence on the impact of flexible furlough on business behaviour, but it’s likely that usage of this component of the scheme will be high.
Overall, it is reasonable to draw the conclusion that the number of people furloughed right now, as employers begin making contributions to furloughed employees’ wage costs, is certainly below 4.5 million (half of the commonly cited nine million total) – and may be as low as one-third of this level.
Employer contributions will disproportionately affect workers in hospitality and leisure, so a sectorally differentiated wind-down of the scheme is desirable
Although the number of people furloughed right now is lower than many claim, it is still a large proportion of the workforce – particularly in some sectors. For this reason, the impact of the introduction of employer contributions towards furloughed employees’ wage costs from 1 August should not be taken lightly.
This big change to the scheme will mean that employers will now start paying employer National Insurance contributions and minimum auto-enrolment pension costs for furloughed employees, at an average of £70 a month (equivalent to 5 per cent of the average employee’s wages pre-coronavirus).
This shift will be followed by increases in contributions in September and October and then the ending of the scheme in November, changes which will have large effects on employer costs in sectors where furloughing rates are higher, such as hospitality and retail. We estimate that in these two sectors as many as one million employees (38 per cent) may still have been furloughed in late July (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Four-in-ten hospitality and leisure workers could still be furloughed
The fact that furloughing rates, and therefore the cost of employer contributions, are concentrated in particularly hard-hit sectors strengthens the case for treating these parts of the economy differently from the rest in the months ahead. Employees in these sectors are now at heightened risk of entering unemployment this autumn as employer contributions are introduced today and then increased throughout September and October.
We have previously called for the phasing in of employer contributions to take place on a slower timetable in the hardest-hit sectors for just this reason. The Government could still take this approach with the planned September and October employer contribution increases (to an estimated 15 and 25 per cent of pre-coronavirus wage costs), in order to limit redundancies in sectors like hospitality and leisure.
Further, the imposition of local lockdowns and the very real risk of a broader second wave means that Government must also be clear about what policy will do in these circumstances. In time, flipping the JRS so it subsidises work being done in these hardest-hit sectors, rather than provides payments when work isn’t done, would be more effective way of maximising the amount of work carried out and would be a more sustainable way of providing support to parts of the economy heavily affected by ongoing social distancing.
To date, the JRS has been a clear policy success. However, the challenges of phasing it out, calibrating it to the path of the virus and the return of economic activity mean that the hard work of designing and implementing policy that protects jobs and incomes in this crisis is far from over.
FAIR WORKS PRACTICES HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR COLLABORATION
Business groups, trades unions and leaders from local government and the third sector have committed to putting fair work at the heart of Scotland’s economic recovery.
As Scotland continues to ease lockdown restrictions, organisations including the Institute of Directors (IoD), SCDI, STUC, COSLA and SCVO have signed a statement underlining the collaborative approach needed between employers, unions and workers to ensure workplaces can operate safely.
Fair Work Minister Jamie Hepburn said: “There is no doubt that Scotland’s economy faces an enormous challenge as we emerge from the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. However, I firmly believe that with employers across all sectors of the economy working in partnership with unions and workers we can use the crisis as an opportunity build fairer and more inclusive workplaces.
“In March we published a statement of Fair Work Principles, setting out our high expectation for keeping fair work at the heart of our national response to COVID-19 during lockdown. Now, as these restrictions continue to ease, we must maintain the momentum we have started to build, ensuring collaboration between workers, employers, representative groups and trades unions.
“This new statement will help employers and employees make decisions that are in everyone’s interest as we carefully reopen the economy. I have been deeply impressed by the work already done in this area, and I want to offer my sincere gratitude to workers and employers for reacting with such agility and dynamism to the challenges thrown up by the pandemic.”
Malcolm Cannon, IoD National Director, Scotland, said: “It is absolutely critical for the recovery of the Scottish economy that the Government works closely with Business Organisations, and the IOD is happy to support this fair work initiative.”
The revised Fair Work Statement was signed by the Institute of Directors, Scottish Council for Development and Industry, COSLA, SCVO, the STUC and Scottish Government.
Last week, the Unite trade union criticised Centrica’s employment plans.
The plan by Centrica, owner of British Gas, ‘to fire and rehire’ its 20,000 employees is the latest example of organisations using the coronavirus emergency as a smokescreen to shed jobs, and erode pay and conditions of workers.
Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, said the decision of the energy giant follows on from other high profile employers, such as British Airways and the University of Sheffield, which have also adopted similar ‘deplorable’ employment practices during the pandemic.
Unite represents Centrica workers including electrical services’ engineers, as well as those employed at power stations and at Centrica Storage Ltd.
Unite regional officer Mark Pettifer said: “The notice that Centrica has given the trade unions that it is going to ‘fire and rehire’ its 20,000 staff on what, we believe, will be inferior pay and employment conditions is deplorable.
“It is part of a disturbing trend where employers are using the pandemic to shed staff and erode employment conditions.
“Centrica is adopting the same tactics as BA and is using Covid-19 as a smokescreen to cut jobs of loyal and dedicated staff who have worked through the lockdown providing energy to the nation.
“Centrica has been in consultations with the unions for the last fortnight over its future plans and now in an act of bad faith unveils its ‘fire and rehire’ plans. It smacks of blackmail – ‘If you don’t do what we want, we will issue notice of dismissals’.
“Unite urges the Centrica management to have an urgent rethink and engage constructively with the trade unions to tackle the specific issues facing Centrica and, more generally, the UK energy sector post-Covid-19.”
In June, Centrica announced that it would be axing of 5,000 jobs, primarily at management level. Before lockdown the company faced a situation of customers leaving to go to smaller suppliers, the energy price cap and falling gas prices.
People looking for work or those at risk of redundancy will benefit from additional assistance to move into work or retrain.
The package of support, outlined by Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop yesterday, is backed by £100 million for 2020/21, with at least £50 million of that funding set aside to help young people get into work.
The measures include a job guarantee for young people, a new national retraining scheme, and more funding to provide immediate assistance and advice if people are made redundant.
In addition, Fair Start Scotland, our employment support service, has been extended by a further two years to March 2023.
Ms Hyslop said: “We are potentially facing unemployment on a scale not seen for decades as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19). Today’s announcements show that we are ready to rise to this challenge with investment to help ensure that people who have lost jobs, those at risk of unemployment and young people entering the labour market can benefit from more and better job opportunities.
“This crisis is having a significant impact on our young people and we need to act quickly to protect their future. I have asked Sandy Begbie, who led the Developing the Young Workforce Group that played a pivotal role in the delivery of the Edinburgh Guarantee to young people, to develop an implementation plan for a job guarantee for young people, as recommended by the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery, and we will set out more detail on that plan in early August.
“The extension to Fair Start Scotland will also provide stability and continuity to the most vulnerable and those furthest from the labour market, including people with disabilities, health conditions and those who are long-term unemployed, to help them progress into work.”
The £100 million is in addition to the £33 million already committed for employability support for 2020/21.
Results from the British Chamber of Commerce’s Quarterly Recruitment Outlook, in partnership with Totaljobs, reveal the impact Coronavirus has had on the jobs market, with the two organisations calling for further action from government to protect businesses and jobs.
29% of businesses expect to decrease the size of their workforce in the next three months
28% decreased size of workforce in Q2 but 66% kept their workforce constant, reinforcing the success of the Job Retention Scheme
The two organisations call for a cut in employer National Insurance Contributions to protect businesses and jobs.
The leading business organisation’s landmark survey, which serves as a barometer of the UK labour market, received 7,400 responses and is the largest of its kind in the UK.
Fieldwork was done prior to the Chancellor’s Summer Statement which announced the Job Retention Bonus, Kickstart Scheme and an Apprenticeship Recovery programme, among other things.
Redundancies expected
29% of businesses expect to decrease the size of their workforce in the next three months before the government’s Job Retention Scheme ends, the highest on record.59% will keep headcount the same and just 12% will look to increase the size of their workforce.
The news comes as businesses across the UK economy announced significant redundancies. The survey found that over the next three months:
18% of micro firms (with fewer than 10 employees) expect their workforce to decrease.
41% of small and medium firms (with 10 to 249 employees) expect their workforce to decrease.
41% of large firms (with over 250 employees) expect their workforce to decrease.
The survey reinforced data from the BCC’s Quarterly Economic Survey of the challenging environment business communities across the UK are facing, with record falls in key indicators of business activity, including domestic and export sales, cashflow and investment.
Recruitment
The percentage of businesses attempting to recruit in the previous quarter fell to 25%, the lowest level on record. Of the firms that attempted to recruit, 65% faced recruitment difficulties, particularly for skilled manual/technical or managerial roles.
Success of the Job Retention Scheme
While 28% of respondents decreased their workforce in Q2, two in three firms kept staffing levels constant. This reflects data on the success of the Job Retention Scheme, with the BCC’s Business Impacts Tracker indicating that around 70%of businesses had furloughed a portion of their staff.
Beginnings of recovery?
As lockdown lifts, Totaljobs have seen a 30% month-on-month increase in the number of jobs being advertised on their website for June, with the largest volume posted in IT (20k), logistics (12k) and social care (9k).
There were also month on month increases in sectors benefiting from lockdown easing like retail (+51%), travel (+47%) and hospitality (+23%). Skilled trades also started to see growth compared with previous weeks, with jobs advertised increasing by57%.
Unsurprisingly, applications per vacancy were up across all sectors, reflecting continued rises in candidate activity on the Totaljobs site.
Further action needed
The two organisations have called on the government for further action to limit the damage to the UK labour market, including reducing the overall cost of employment, through a temporary cut in employer National Insurance Contributions and support to upskill and reskill employees as businesses adapt to change.
BCC Co-Executive Director Hannah Essex said:“Our research demonstrates the Chancellor’s focus on protecting, supporting and creating jobs is exactly what’s needed to drive the UK’s economic recovery in the coming months.
“Many businesses are suffering from an historic cash crunch and reduced demand, meaning firms will still face tough decisions despite welcome interventions made in the Summer Statement.
“The government should consider additional support for employers before the Autumn Budget to reduce the overall cost of employment and prevent substantial redundancies.Measures could include a temporary cut in employer National Insurance Contributions and support to upskill and reskill employees as businesses adapt to change.”
Totaljobs CEO Jon Wilson said:“The latest figures from the Quarterly Recruitment Outlook make stark reading, especially when compared to what we had grown accustomed to in previous years. It is clear that business confidence is low, with many being forced to make difficult decisions when it comes to their workforce.
“However, the Chancellor’s summer statement outlined a number of measures that will not only support jobs but help create new roles in the economy and give confidence to businesses trying to plan for the future. The interim cuts in stamp duty and VAT should give the hard-hit housing and hospitality sectors a much-needed boost.
“It’s clear that moving forward, adaptability remains paramount for businesses and people, with upskilling, reskilling and utilising transferable skills all key factors during this recovery period.
“To protect jobs and further ease the burden facing businesses, we join the British Chambers of Commerce in their call for a cut in employer National Insurance. We also urge the Chancellor to continue to consider the needs of the sectors and demographics most impacted by Covid-19, to protect people’s livelihoods and help the jobs market and wider economy pick up.”
Commenting on the latest employment figures published today (Thursday), which show around 650,000 fewer paid employees since before the pandemic, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “There’s a national disaster unfolding, with vacancies at an all-time low and more jobs lost every day, but ministers are watching from the side-lines, instead of saving jobs with targeted support for the hardest-hit sectors like retail, manufacturing and aviation.
“The more people we have in work, the faster we will work our way out of recession. If the government doesn’t go all out to protect and create jobs, the economic crisis will be longer and harder.
“We can create jobs by fast-tracking infrastructure projects. This would speed up the delivery of faster broadband, more childcare, green technology, modern transport and housing. And it would create over a million jobs across the UK.”
You can view the full QRO report at the link below:
As the Chancellor stands up to make his ‘summer statement’ today, families across the country will be facing up to the possibility of unemployment (writes the TUC’s KATE BELL):
The Chancellor has a chance to prevent the devastation of mass unemployment leading to the situation this country saw in the 1980s – young people left on the scrap heap, lives ruined, and communities decimated. But he needs to act fast and decisively.
Here’s the TUC’s plan for decent jobs:
1. Introduce a real jobs guarantee – offering paid jobs for young people who face unemployment
We’ve heard that the Chancellor may invest in apprenticeships, or traineeships – unpaid work placements with some training attached. It’s not clear yet whether these will be voluntary, or how the Chancellor expects people to live while they’re undertaking these. The TUC has always opposed mandatory unpaid work placements. And unpaid work experience is no substitute for a real jobs guarantee.
We want the government to invest in supporting real jobs, paid at least the Real Living Wage, for young people facing the prospect of long-term unemployment. Government funding should support additional jobs in the public and private sector that support regional growth strategies, and provide real benefit, including helping to decarbonise the economy.
That jobs guarantee must go alongside a rapid redundancy response service and investment in jobcentres. And we desperately need an increase in social security payments to stop those who lose their jobs spiralling into debt.
2. Invest across the economy to create jobs
We know the country needs an infrastructure upgrade to help drive productivity, and urgent action to tackle the climate crisis. And after a decade of austerity, our public services are desperately overstretched.
Fixing these problems now can help create the jobs we need. Research for the TUC shows that an £85bn investment in green infrastructure could help create 1.24 million jobs in the next two years, including 500,000 jobs through building and retrofitting social housing, and almost 60,000 jobs in electrifying transport.
And we should support our public services by investing in jobs. There are over 100,000 vacancies in social care, and 100,000 more in the NHS – even before we deliver a better system. Local government saw 100,000 redundancies in the past decade, jobs that are needed now to deliver vital services and help tackle the pandemic.
3. Work with unions and business on new rescue plans for hard hit sectors
We’ve seen how the pandemic, and the social distancing measures it requires, has hit some types of business harder than others. Aviation and hospitality have been particularly badly affected. Government needs to come together with unions and businesses to design rescue packages for these sectors – including setting out how those plans can be used to deliver better and greener jobs.
The Job Retention Scheme has done valuable work throughout the crisis in protecting people’s jobs, and is now supporting many people to work part-time. Government should extend it beyond October for businesses that can show they have a viable future but need more time to get back on their feet.
4. Prioritise progress towards equality
We know unemployment is bad for everyone. But those who already face discrimination in the labour market often see their prospects held back even further. BME groups faced higher unemployment in the 2008-09 recession, and still have high unemployment rates.
Research shows that during upturns disabled people are the last to gain employment, and during downturns they are first to be made unemployed. With the childcare sector on the brink of collapse, women’s employment prospects face being put back a generation.
The Chancellor needs to prioritise progress towards equality when he sets out his plans. That means tackling the insecure work that leaves BME workers disproportionately having their hours cut or being let go. It means monitoring the impact of employment programmes on different groups.
And it means the Chancellor needs to protect those who can’t work due to the fact they are shielding or have caring responsibilities from being forced out of work by extending the job retention scheme.
Mass unemployment and a new wave of inequality aren’t inevitable. We can build back better. But the Chancellor needs to be bold and act fast.
Finance Ministers from the devolved administrations are urging the UK Government to ease the financial restrictions imposed on devolved governments so they can better respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
Ahead of the Chancellor’s Summer Statement, Kate Forbes, Rebecca Evans and Conor Murphy are calling for assurances that will give them the freedom to switch capital funding to day-to-day revenue and put an end to the arbitrary limits on borrowing. They are also looking for more clarity on details around the forthcoming Spending Review.
Kate Forbes, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance (above), said: “The powers we are seeking will enable the Scottish Government to respond to COVID-19 more effectively and reboot our economy. They are relatively limited powers, but would ease some of the immense pressures on our budget and give us more tools to kick-start our recovery.
“At the moment, any extra money spent bolstering services and supporting the economic recovery must be taken from other areas. That creates risks for our essential public services, jobs and businesses. I am therefore calling on the Chancellor to ease these rigid fiscal rules and give us the flexibility we need to properly address the monumental challenges our economy is facing.
“I also want to see greater ambition in the level of investment in our economy. Last week the Scottish Government set out a proposal for an £80 billion UK-wide stimulus package. What is needed at this time of crisis is bold and practical policies that will boost consumption, promote investment and protect jobs.”
Northern Ireland Finance Minister Conor Murphy said: “It is crucial that the devolved administrations are equipped to respond swiftly and effectively to the challenges arising from COVID-19.
“More financial flexibility can help us deal with these challenges and use our budgets to support public services, protect the vulnerable, and deliver an economic recovery.”
Welsh Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said: “Our response to the COVID-19 crisis has been hampered by UK imposed rules that limit our ability to get more resources to the frontline.
“There is no clear rationale for these rules, which undermine good budget management in Wales.
“The Welsh Local Government Association, Wales TUC, FSB Cymru and Institute for Fiscal Studies and, more recently, the Senedd’s Finance Committee, have all made the same calls for change.
“The crisis has made the issue urgent. It’s time for the UK Government to act and provide the flexibility we need to respond and invest in Wales’ recovery.”
Employers up and down the country are planning to welcome back employees to the workplace, and they must bring in strict COVID-safe plans as lockdown measures ease.
But British workers should confirm with their employer the steps that are being taken to make it safe and compliant to return to work.
All UK businesses who ask their staff members to return to work have been informed that they need to undertake a risk assessment and put in place various measures to protect their staff from contracting the virus.
Employees need to feel safe, and depending on the specific industry, certain unions have claimed that employees can even refuse to go back to the office if precautions aren’t taken.
Health and safety experts at CE Safety have made it easier for Brits to understand what their employers should be doing to comply with new safety rules.
A spokesperson for CE Safety says: “There are countless sensible measures to take when it comes to a safe return to work.
“The Coronavirus guidelines and measures are fast-paced, so all employers and employees need to follow the latest developments. As it stands, if Brits can work from home, then they should continue to do so.
“But this could change by August. Retail, hospitality, service and leisure industries are reopening from 4th July, it’s important to look at what employees need to know ahead of a return to the ‘new normal’.
“It’s worth mentioning that Brits should not return to work if they have been advised by the Government to shield. This will apply only to those in receipt of a letter, who are in the extremely vulnerable category.”
Here is a need-to-know checklist when it comes to returning to work:
Has the employer carried out a COVID-19 risk assessment?
Sounds simple, but before reopening the office, employers should ensure the safety of the workplace by carrying out a risk assessment. This might result in reorganising the office layout to give employees more space between work stations and/or install sneeze guards between spaces. A phased return might also be an option to employers.
Check employer’s cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures
Employers should encourage staff to wash hands regularly, and provide hand sanitiser around the workplace as well as the washrooms. There also needs to be a schedule that allows frequent cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and objects that are touched regularly.
Clear use of toilets may sound too particular, but employers need to outline cleaning guidance for the toilets, as well as providing adequate hand drying facilities, either paper towels or hand dryers.
Ask the employer to clarify working from home stance
Employers have been advised by the UK government to take all reasonable steps to help people work from home.
Has there been internal discussing home working arrangements? Do employees have the correct equipment to allow effective working from home such as remote access work systems?
Employees who have family members that are at greater risk from COVID-19 will understandably be concerned about returning to work. Hence the need for employers to consider employees working work from home.
For employee physical and mental wellbeing, this is an important step for employers to help look after their staff. Mental health issues that can arise from periods of isolation, and employers need to allow the best possible working conditions for their staff.
What is there in place to ensure social distancing?
Where possible, social distance between colleagues should be maintained. Employers need to put up signs to remind workers and visitors of social distance guidance. Workstations should not be shared. Floor tape is a cost-effective way to visualise social distancing guidelines.
Employers may need to look at their processes too, and perhaps switch to visitors by appointment only, or do meetings via video service platform such as Zoom, or Google Hangouts.
What to do if British workers aren’t happy?
If you have raised concerns or requested clarification with your employer, but you don’t feel they have been addressed, you can consider whether to contact the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) about your concerns. They are the Government body with responsibility for safety in the workplace and can take enforcement action against employers who are lacking.
A Treasury Committee recommendation calling for more support for “Left behinds” who are not currently eligible for either of the Government’s Coronavirus support schemes for employees and the self-employed should be adopted without delay, say leading tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.
Robert Salter, a Director at the firm, said: “There are still too many people falling through the gaps, around one million getting no support whatsoever.
“Whilst credit should be given to the Government for having developed the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), it was always clear that these schemes were designed for ‘simplicity’ and ‘administrative ease’ rather than for fairness.
“The Treasury Committee’s push to have the Government widen these schemes to those workers who were previously left behind should be welcomed by all those who appreciate fairness and justice in the tax and benefits systems.
He added: “The Committee recommends extending Government support to groups such as those employees who started (or were due to start), employment in March 2020 or afterwards, those workers who genuinely go from short-term engagement to short-term engagement (e.g. free contract workers), Personal Service Company directors who pay themselves via dividends rather than salary and those self-employed individuals who started self-employment in 2019/20 (or in some cases part way through the 2018/19 tax year).
“They also say that the Government should manage the risk of fraud with these cases, but that it is unlikely to present a problem in most of these situations.”
He added: “Established, freelance contractors who have been working for a number of employers on a contract-by-contract basis would usually have submitted tax returns in previous years. Similarly, established directors of Personal Service Companies would have a similar tax history and would have been filing tax returns to report their dividend income in previous years. As such, many of the ‘left behinds’ are, from a Revenue data and information perspective, in exactly the same position as other individuals already eligible for CJRS and SEISS support.”
Lothian list Conservative MSP Miles Briggs has praised the UK Government’s job retention scheme which has protected over 100,000 jobs in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
City of Edinburgh
58,400
West Lothian
21,700
East Lothian
12,500
Midlothian
11,200
Total
103,800
He says the UK Government’s job retention scheme is an excellent example of how Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom are stronger together.
The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented national and global crisis which the Scottish and UK government have responded to together.
The UK Government has provided further support to businesses and individuals in Scotland through the self-employed scheme, bounce back loans, VAT referrals and increases in welfare support such as Universal Credit, as well as an extra £3.8 billion in support through Barnett Consequential funding.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, commented: “Lockdown in response to the outbreak of Covid-19 has been challenging for businesses throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians.
“The uncertainty caused by this pandemic has put tens of thousands of jobs at risk, which the job retention scheme has managed to make more secure.
“It is remarkable that the UK government has been able to protect so many jobs during this pandemic.
“We must now focus on getting the economy moving again so that Edinburgh and the Lothians can start recovering from the Covid-19 outbreak. I have called on SNP Ministers to establish a Recovery Taskforce for Edinburgh and the Lothians.”
UK is on the brink of a surge in youth unemployment, warns TUC
Government must introduce a job guarantee scheme to prevent the misery of long-term unemployment
New analysis published today by the TUC shows that young workers (aged 25 and under) face the highest risk of unemployment due to the coronavirus crisis.
The analysis compares unemployment risk related to the coronavirus crisis across industrial sectors. And it looks at the age profile of workers in sectors with highest risk.
Sectors at highest risk
Workers in all sectors of the economy face unemployment risks due to the coronavirus crisis and the recession that is expected to follow.
However, two sectors are at much higher risk of losing jobs compared to others: ‘accommodation and food’ and ‘arts, entertainment and recreation’.
Our analysis uses three measures to assess risk: (1) the rate of furloughed workers, (2) the proportion of businesses that have paused or cancelled trading, and (3) the proportion of businesses with turnover falling more than 50%.
These two sectors not only rate the highest for all three measures, they are also in a league of their own, with rates far exceeding the construction sector in third place.
Sector
Workforce furloughed
Businesses pausing trading
Businesses with turnover falling more than 50%
Accommodation and food
83%
74%
62%
Arts, entertainment and recreation
73%
75%
63%
Construction industries
41%
19%
40%
Average for all industries
28%
18%
26%
NB – this table shows selected data from the analysis. For a full table covering all sectors, see the research note.
Young workers
The analysis suggests that, without urgent action, the UK may be on the brink of a surge in youth unemployment.
Of 4,352,000 UK workers aged 25 and under, 890,000 work in either accommodation and food, or arts, entertainment and recreation.
It means that 20% of workers aged 25 and under work in these two sectors, compared to 6% for workers older than 25.
Workers aged 25 and under are therefore three times more likely to work in one of the two sectors where jobs are at greatest risk.
Women workers aged 2 5 and under face the greatest risk of all. They are six times more likely than male workers over 25 to work in the highest risk sector, accommodation and food.
In addition to lay-offs, recessions make it harder for young people seeking to enter the labour market for the first time, as employers hire less. This part explains why youth unemployment tends to be much higher than for other workers following a recession.
UK job vacancies have already fallen 25% compared to this time last year. And the sector with the biggest fall is accommodation and food (42%).
Job guarantee scheme
Research shows that prolonged unemployment when young has negative impacts on later working life. This includes a greater likelihood of further periods of unemployment and work with lower pay.
The TUC is calling for a job guarantee scheme to stop those without work becoming long-term unemployed, with early access to the scheme for young workers.
It would resemble the future jobs fund, which was part of the national recovery plan following the recession in 2008 caused by the private banking crisis. A government evaluation found that, two years after starting the programme, participants were 27% more likely to be in unsubsidised work.
Key features of the TUC’s proposed jobs guarantee scheme:
Supports additional jobs that would not otherwise be created by employers
Enables work that benefits the UK, such as helping to decarbonise the economy
Offers secure contracts of at least six months
Pays at least the real living wage
Gives training opportunities to help people move into longer-term work
Provides guaranteed access to trade union representation
Alongside the job guarantee scheme, the TUC says that government must work with businesses and unions to protect as many jobs as possible. This should include extending the job retention scheme for employers who cannot easily adapt to social distancing.
And ministers should form a national recovery council alongside unions and employers, to design and deliver a recovery plan that protects and creates decent jobs.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “We know it’s a tough road ahead. But the more people there are in work, the faster we can work our way out of recession.
“Our national recovery plan must be centred on jobs – both protecting those we have and creating more. We need more good jobs in social care, in the green tech that our future depends on, in UK start-ups and in a revitalised manufacturing sector.
“Some industries may need help for longer through the job retention scheme so they can retain staff while they adapt to new safety standards.
“And for those who lose their jobs, the government must set up a job guarantee scheme. Young people in particular can’t be left to the misery of long-term unemployment. And it’s the best value option for the treasury.
“Making sure everyone has a decent job on a fair wage is how to recover faster and build back better.”
