Demand soars for redundancy advice

Demand for advice relating to redundancy is soaring in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Citizens Advice Scotland has warned.

It said it had seen a 191 per cent increase in the number of pieces of redundancy advice given by the 59 bureaux between April and July.

The network advised people on redundancy 543 times in April, increasing to 1,584 times in July.

In total, almost 2,000 people have sought redundancy advice from the network between April and July.

The UK has just entered its first recession in 11 years. Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) is encouraging people to seek advice from local bureaux or online during the crisis.

The charity is also calling on the Chancellor to be flexible about winding down the furlough scheme and extend it for at risk sectors and areas if necessary.

CAS chief executive Derek Mitchell said: “It’s essential that governments and policy makers take the right steps to protect people from the economic storm ahead.

“Households across the country will be facing a financial cliff edge.”