The Labour party and a leading welfare thinktank have called on the government to extend furlough subsidies for the country's hardest-hit industries as employers are forced to make financial contributions towards temporarily laid-off workers. The Resolution Foundation said around half of the 9.2 million people placed on the government's job retention scheme (JRS) since it launched in April have still not returned to work.
The group warned that these people faced the prospect of widespread redundancies when the scheme, which covers 80 per cent of workers' wages, closes on October 31. Labour, meanwhile, said nightclubs and indoor soft-play areas, which are still banned from reopening, could be forced to cut thousands of jobs as employers face having to contribute to the scheme prior to its deadline.
Shadow Business Secretary Ed Miliband said the government would be “culpable for thousands of workers across the country losing their jobs and livelihoods” unless it urgently adjusted the furlough scheme. He said, “Business in vastly different sectors and circumstances should not be treated in this uniform way, and it is clearly unfair and illogical for those employers still locked down and unable to trade.”
Labour said night-time industries alone could face costs into hundreds of million pounds, based on industry figures that suggest over 500,000 workers are furloughed in that sector.
