Highlands MSP calls for stop to new start workers falling through cracks in Covid-19 support
Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant is calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to put an end to his "punishment" of new start employees.
Rhoda Grant, who is Scottish Labour’s shadow finance minster, is asking for changes to be made to the guidelines of the HM Treasury’s Job Retention Scheme which was unveiled by the Chancellor to help business deal with Coronavirus.
It was designed to cover the cost of paying for millions of people who were suddenly left without work when businesses shut down in an attempt to slow the spread of the pandemic.
Companies can use the scheme to pay their staff 80 per cent of their wages – up to £2,500 a month. But the Treasury says qualifying employees must be registered on the company's PAYE system by 28 February to limit the possibility of fraud.
This means those who were switching jobs at this time have fallen through the cracks, potentially facing months without a salary because their new employer cannot apply for the wages grants.
Employees who were on payroll on 28 February but have since left that job for whatever reason – not just redundancy – can be re-employed by their old employer and placed on furlough, similar to gardening leave, and be paid the 80 per cent of their wages – up to the same limit.
However, previous employers are under no obligation to do this.
Mrs Grant said: “I have written to the chancellor calling on him to put an end to his unfair punishment of workers whose only wrongdoing was to chose to change jobs and move forward in their careers before the economic consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic was known.
"The chancellor must amend these rules to ensure that no one is left behind.
"As the scheme stands it discriminates against those who changed their job and leaves them dependant on a previous employer for their income. The campaign against the Treasury on this issue is colossal.
"It cannot be ignored.”
Scottish Labour Leader Richard Leonard has also written to the Chancellor to demand action over new start employees being failed by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
He states: “Whilst I understand and appreciate the need to put in place rules that minimise the opportunity for the scheme to be abused by unscrupulous employers, and I recognise the speed with which it was created, I believe there are other checking mechanisms that can be deployed that would ensure that those who began new jobs after the cut-off point could be included in the scheme.
“The Treasury will have records of tax and NI paid prior to the 28th February by these individuals and their previous employers and will enable them to identify those that have moved employment at the critical period … in my view, leaving workers who changed jobs out of this scheme through no fault of their own is simply not acceptable.”
Read the personal story faced by one local new start worker Manouk Bakermans in today's Strathy now on sale.
