- New figures show that 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 across the UK in July
- This includes 130,900 people returning back to work part-time in the South East, the first month since flexible furlough was introduced
- Alex Burghart welcomes the success of the furlough scheme in protecting people’s livelihoods and making sure people’s jobs were there for them to return to
New figures show that nearly a million workers returned to their jobs part-time in the first month flexible furlough was introduced – including 130,900 in the South East. 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 1,294,600 in the South East. 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.
Commenting, Alex Burghart said: “It is great to see just how many businesses are opening up their doors and bringing their furloughed staff back, whether that be on a full-time or part-time basis.”
“The Conservative Government’s furlough scheme has been tremendously successful in the South East in its ambition to protect jobs which may otherwise have been at potential risk. Now, as the country moves into the next response phase, we want to assist employers so they can continue to do the right thing by keeping workers employed. Our Job Retention Bonus will do exactly that.”
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.” ENDS
For more information please contact [email protected]
Notes to Editors
- 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 (HMT, News story, 18 September 2020, link).
- 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 (HMT, News story, 15 September 2020, link).
- 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 (HMT, News story, 15 September 2020, link).
- 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.
(HMT, Plan for Jobs, 8 July 2020, link).
