Charmaine Watkins (Student)

Between April and June 2020, employment rates in the United Kingdom dropped by 220,000 which was the largest quarterly fall for more than a decade, since the UK Financial Crisis. According to The Independent since March, the total number of people who have dropped off company payrolls is 730,000, this increased by 81,000 in July alone.  

Covid-19 has had a major impact on employment rates throughout the UK, this is mainly due to a reduction in employment for over 65’s and also lack of part time jobs for younger people. The number of hours worked weekly during the pandemic was down by 203.3 million hours, this is primarily down to the number of people on the furlough scheme, with 7.5 million people estimated to be away from work during June. 

It was reported that in the UK there were 300,000 people away from work and did not receive pay in August due to the pandemic.  It is reported that the number of Non-UK EU nations in employment in Britain dropped by 284,000, which is the largest drop since 2015, this is due to the hospitality industry being hit hard by the pandemic.  

The Furlough scheme has been criticised for concealing the extent of joblessness in the UK. It is feared that people under the furlough scheme are classified as employed however, fear there will not be a job for them to return to after the Scheme finishes at the end of October.  It is expected that one in three companies will make redundancies in the coming months. 

At Staffordshire University Legal Advice Clinic (SULAC) we offer free legal advice on employment related matters. If you wish to book an appointment with us call 01782 294 800 or alternatively email SULAC@staffs.ac.uk