More than 9million to be furloughed due to coronavirus costing £40billion – The Sun

MORE than nine million workers are expected to be furloughed – costing the public purse as much as £40billion, according to new analysis. 

Employees across the country are being asked to take pay cuts and stop working under the government's  new job retention scheme.

The think tank Resolution Foundation has estimated a huge portion of the UK workforce will be furloughed under the government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

The latest figures come from analysis of how many companies have taken the government up on their offer to subsidise employees pay.

Furloughed staff will only be able to claim pay-checks from the government for 80 per cent of their pay up to £2,500 a month

According to the BBC, nearly a fifth of small firms plan to furlough ALL staff, and 50 per cent of British companies are putting most of their staff on the government scheme.

Businesses around the country have seen their incomes slashed after Boris Johnson announced the country would be put into lockdown, and huge swathes of the economy paused.

The move hit has small business much harder because of their slimmer margins.

All shops, pubs, bars, restaurants, theatres, non-essential shops and leisure centres could be forced to stay closed until summer.

Any employers who put their staff on furlough – a leave of absence – will have their pay-checks reimbursed by the government.

The Resolution Foundation calculated that across the country at least a third of private sector employees – between 7 and 10 million people – will be furloughed.

It has impacted staff in almost every industry, including banks, law firms, airlines and sports teams.

Over three months the cost of those wages would be between £30-£40billion – almost the same amount of money spent on policing and safety.

Chief exec of construction company Mace Group Mark Reynolds said he had put 800 staff on furlough.

He said: "What the furlough scheme's enabled us to do is keep the capacity and capability within our business so that when we come through this, we can then re-deploy our people immediately so we can go back to work."

Government ministers have drawn up plans to look at how the country to start to end lockdown by June, but if it does extend it will cost even more.

Treasury officials have said many business may be forced to fold even if with government help if the lockdown is longer than three months.

A Treasury spokesman said: "The purpose of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is to keep people in employment, protecting people's jobs and incomes and reducing long-term damage to the economy."

Who can be furloughed?

ANY UK employer can apply for the furlough scheme, including business, charities, recruitment agencies and public authorities.

Employers as varied as easyJet and Premier League clubs Newcastle and Tottenham have already furloughed some of their workers.

However the government does not envisage making significant payouts to public sector employees as they believe most will continue offering essential services.

Where employers are receiving public funding for staff costs, they will be expected to continue using these funds to pay staff rather than applying for the furlough scheme.

If you are working at reduced hours and pay, you will not be eligible for furlough and it will be up to your employer to pay you as normal.

You must have created and started a PAYE payroll scheme on or before February 28, 2020 and have a UK bank account.

Director of the British Chamber of Commerce Adam Marshall said: "So many businesses around the country need cash quickly.

"If they don't receive some of the funding urgently by the end of this month, many of them are going to have to take drastic steps."

There have been holes in the scheme and not everyone is protected – anyone who changed jobs after the February 28th cut-off does not qualify to be furloughed by their new employer unless they were put on the payroll before then.

But anyone in that position is able to ask their previous employer to rehire them so they can fall under the scheme. 

Workers who are furloughed are not able to take up a second job. 

The portal for the scheme won't be up and running until the end of April, but pay will be back-dated.

Chief exec of Resolution Foundation Torsten Bell said: "By subsidising up to 80% of workers' wages, the scheme will help millions of workers who would otherwise face catastrophic hits to their living standards.

"The cost of the scheme depends on firms' take-up and the length of time workers need to be furloughed for."

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