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Home / Work worries increasing as end of furlough approaches, says Citizens Advice

Work worries increasing as end of furlough approaches, says Citizens Advice

By agency reporter
October 6, 2020

With less than one month to go until the furlough scheme closes, Citizens Advice reports redundancy and benefits queries are on the rise.

  • Last week frontline advisers gave one-to-one redundancy advice to more than 1,000 people and views to the charity’s employment pages passed 250,000, the highest in four weeks
  • Views to the charity’s Coronavirus – check what benefits you can get page have nearly doubled since August
  • Since lockdown, advisers have supported more than 25,000 people with one-to-one advice on redundancy via phone and webchat

By law if employers are dismissing 20 or more employees at the same workplace, they must carry out a 30-day collective redundancy consultation. If they are dismissing 100 employees or more, this must be a 45-day consultation.

Citizens Advice has previously set out guidance on steps to take for those facing redundancy.

Andy Gillett, a telephone advice manager at Citizens Advice Blackpool, says: "Work worries are really ramping up. With the end of the furlough scheme in just a few short weeks, a lot of people feel like they're in the waiting room for a redundancy. There's a sense of underlying anxiety, but at the same time people are trying to be practical, for example asking how they'd go about claiming benefits or what they can do about their bills if they suddenly lose their income. The hardest thing is people saying that if they lose their job there won’t easily be another to go into - for many, that’s the reality of the labour market."

Dame Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “The furlough scheme has been an extraordinary intervention, but as it draws to a close we could face a bleak winter of redundancies. The Chancellor has acknowledged that the new Job Support Scheme won’t protect every job. While people look for work it’s critical our benefits system provides a strong enough safety net. Making the £20 uplift to Universal Credit permanent would provide some much-needed security as we weather this storm.”

* The Coronavirus – check what benefits you can get page is here

* Citizens Advice earlier guidance for people at risk of redundancy can be found here

* Citizens Advice https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

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