Firms share £9bn to keep furloughed staff in jobs

THE TH chancellor has announced that companies com which have furloughed staff will wil be given a £1,000 reward to keep workers wo in jobs.

Rishi R Sunak said the jobs retention bonus could cost £9billion if all 9million furloughed workers are retained.

He unveiled the measure as part of an emergency package of support to help keep people in work as the coronavirus economic crisis hits.

While warning that ‘hardship lies ahead’, he insisted that no one will be left ‘without hope’.

The furlough scheme winds down in October and Mr Sunak will be keen to avoid widespread redundancies as state support is withdrawn.

He said: ‘While we can’t protect every job, one of the most important things we can do to prevent unemployment is to get as many people as possible from furlough back to their jobs.’

Under the jobs retention bonus, firms will be paid £1,000 for each employee they bring back from furlough and continuously employ through to January on an average of at least £520 a month. Addressing MPs, Mr Sunak said his plan would help protect livelihoods after the economy contracted by 25 per cent in just two months.

‘People are anxious about losing their jobs, about unemployment rising. We’re not just going to accept this.’

His statement comes after warnings from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that the UK’s unemployment rate could soar to 14.8 per cent, with job losses comparable to the 1930s.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds welcomed the support for the economy but said the best way to boost demand was ‘to give consumers and workers the confidence and psychological security that they can go out to work, to shop, and to socialise in safety’.

CBI director-general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn said Mr Sunak had been right to prioritise jobs but insisted more immediate support for firms was required.