UK closes furlough scheme set up to protect COVID-hit jobs

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said while the scheme winds down, the government's “Plan for Jobs” enters its next stage with measures such as the so-called “super-deduction” tax break for businesses, Kickstart Scheme for job-seekers and traineeship offers. 

The Indian-origin Cabinet minister, leading Britain’s financial response to the pandemic, called on UK firms to take advantage of the support still available. 

“I am immensely proud of the furlough scheme, and even more proud of UK workers and businesses whose resolve has seen us through an immensely difficult time,” said Sunak. 

“With the recovery well underway, and more than 1 million job vacancies, now is the right time for the scheme to draw to a close. But that in no way means the end of our support. Our Plan for Jobs is helping people into work and making sure they have the skills needed for the jobs of the future,” he said. 

The UK''s Treasury department said the furlough scheme, which was being gradually wound down in the past few months, protected over 11.6 million jobs during the toughest months of the pandemic. With the majority of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions removed and the British economy opening again, it said the focus will now shift on investing in future jobs and skills. 

Over 18 months on from its launch and with over GBP 68 billion spent on the scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme have been described as instrumental in protecting workers and incomes from the worst of the crisis. 

The UK’s Resolution Foundation said this week that the furlough scheme “prevented catastrophic rises in unemployment” and there are now almost 2 million fewer people forecast to be out of work than was feared at the height of the pandemic. 

The Treasury department said while the emergency support draws to a close, the government will continue to maximise employment across the country, create high quality, productive jobs, and deliver the skills that people, businesses and the economy need. 

These efforts include the GBP 2-billion Kickstart Scheme, which official figures claim has so far placed 76,900 young people at risk of long-term unemployment into jobs. A Sector-Based Work Academy Programme is said to have already helped 65,000 jobseekers with skills and continued support for employers to take on apprentices is also on the government’s Plan for Jobs agenda.