Millions of jobs at risk, warns Labour

THE jobs of almost three million people working for small businesses are “hanging in the balance” as a result of the Government’s “flawed” support scheme, Labour has claimed, as a key deadline passed yesterday.

More than 130,000 small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including restaurants, clubs and event operators, cannot run their business or are trading at reduced capacity following new Covid-related restrictions, the Opposition said.

The Chancellor’s new job support scheme makes it more expensive for employers to keep workers on part-time than employ some full-time and let others go, Labour said.

The party noted that yesterday was the deadline for employers to issue redundancy notices if they were planning to lay off between 20 and 99 workers before the current furlough scheme ends on October 31. It could mean that thousands of employees across the country have already been warned of redundancies.

Over a million SMEs are still suffering a fall in turnover, with around 310,000 turning over less than half the amount they did over the same period last year, it was estimated.

Under the new job support scheme, bringing back one bar manager full-time will cost £455.30 a week, but it would cost £610.89 for the same bar to bring back two workers for half their working week, Labour said.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said: “Last week the Chancellor should have listened to Labour and introduced a jobs recovery scheme that incentivised employers to keep more staff on.

“Instead, millions of jobs are at risk because he’s forcing small businesses to choose which staff to keep and which to fire.

“These are viable businesses that just need support to cope with the restrictions the Government has imposed on them.

“They pinned their hopes on the Chancellor to deliver, but he’s pulling up the drawbridge at the worst possible time.

“This wasn’t by accident – it was by design. This sink-or-swim mentality is a throwback to the worst days of Thatcher, and just like in the 1980s, people on the lowest incomes will pay the highest price.”

A Treasury spokesman said: “Our support for business has reached, and continues to reach, millions of firms. The Job Support Scheme is designed to protect jobs in businesses facing lower demand over the winter due to Covid and is just one form of support on offer to employers during this difficult period.

“Businesses can still access our loan schemes, now extended, defer VAT payments previously due in March, and benefit from business rates holidays, a moratorium of eviction for commercial tenants and the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme.”