Eddisbury MP welcomes workers returning to work part-time from furlough

New figures show that nearly a million workers returned to their jobs part-time in the first month flexible furlough was introduced – including 99,700 in the North West.

Flexible furlough began on the 1st July - giving businesses the flexibility to bring employees back part-time, with the government paying 80 per cent of their wages for the hours not worked.

The furlough scheme has protected more than 9.6 million jobs across the UK since the scheme launched earlier this year, including 1,035,600 in the North West.

In addition to people returning part-time, figures released earlier this week show that more than half of all people furloughed in May have already returned to work full-time. At the schemes peak in May, 30 per cent of the workforce across the UK was furloughed. The share of the workforce furloughed fell by more than half to 11 per cent by mid-August.

This shows that the furlough scheme has done what it was designed to do - save jobs and help people back to work, where they want to be.

Companies can benefit from the £1,000 Job Retention Bonus for returning staff – supporting companies returning staff to work and rewarding them for keeping them in their jobs.

Eddisbury MP, Edward Timpson said:

“It’s fantastic to see so many businesses opening their doors again and returning their furloughed staff back on either a full-time or part-time basis.”

“The furlough scheme has been hugely successful across Cheshire – protecting jobs which may otherwise have been at risk. Now, as we move into the next phase of our response to coronavirus, we want to help employers keep people on. Our Job Retention Bonus will do exactly that, supporting businesses to do the right thing.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:

“These figures show the success of our furlough scheme in doing what we set it up to do – to make sure people’s jobs were there for them to return to.

“That so many businesses have been able to get back to trading and bring their staff back to the workplace is a testament to the impact the scheme has had.”

• New figures show that nearly a million workers used flexible furlough in July.  950,000 workers – 20 per cent of those furloughed nationally – went back to offices, shops, restaurants and factories to work on a part-time basis.
• Figures released earlier this week show that more than half of all people furloughed in May have already returned to work full-time. At the schemes peak in May, 30 per cent of the workforce across the UK was furloughed. The share of the workforce furloughed fell by more than half to 11 per cent by mid-August - and will likely have fallen further since.
• The furlough scheme has protected 9.6 million jobs across the UK at a cost of £37.5 billion. Almost 1 in 3 eligible employments have been supported by the scheme in each country and region within the UK at some point during the scheme.
• We launched a Plan for Jobs, worth up to £30 billion, putting jobs at the forefront of our economic recovery. Our Plan for Jobs includes:
• Protecting jobs by:
• • Our Job Retention Bonus of £1,000 for employers who bring back furloughed employees and keep them on until January. We have put aside £9 billion for this scheme.
  • Supporting hard hit sectors through the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme and cutting the rate of VAT for hospitality, accommodation and attractions to 5 per cent.

• Supporting jobs through:

• • Our £2 billion Kickstart scheme, creating hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people aged 16-24 – recognising they are particularly at risk.
  • £1.5 billion investment in scaling up employment support schemes, such as training and apprenticeships. This includes paying employers £2,000 for every apprentice they hire.

• Creating jobs by:

• • Stimulating the housing sector, which employs half a million people, by raising the stamp duty threshold to £500,000;
  • £8.6 billion of accelerated infrastructure spending to boost the construction sector;
  • Investing £3 billion in green infrastructure, creating thousands of green jobs.