Page 10 - Gi_May2020

management & education news

ONE IN FOUR EMPLOYERS EXPECT

TO MAKE REDUNDANCIES AS A RESULT

OF CORONAVIRUS, POLL FINDS

ONE IN FOUR UK employers expect to one per cent more than 75 per cent.
make permanent redundancies because Other options beyond the furlough
of the coronavirus crisis, while more scheme and redundancies cited in the
than half will furlough staff. survey included asking staff to take
That is according to a poll by People annual leave, temporarily deploying
Management and the CIPD, which employees to other parts of the
surveyed more than 300 employers business, reducing people’s hours and
and found 52 per cent planned to freezing or deferring pay rises.
temporarily lay off staff through the The poll also found hiring was
government’s job retention scheme. expected to take a hit over the coming
Of those who predicted they would months. More than half said all
furlough staff, nearly one in five (17 recruitment had been frozen at their
per cent) said they anticipated having organisation, and a quarter said they
to furlough up to 10 per cent of their would hire fewer new staff than normal.
workforce, while 10 per cent forecasted Meanwhile, one in seven said hiring
having to temporarily lay off up to 24 would continue as normal, and four per
per cent of the workforce. cent said they intended to recruit more FIRMS HAVE BEEN FORCED TO LAY
The survey also found that, despite staff to cope with increased demand. OFF STAFF AMID THE OUTBREAK
government intervention, a quarter Ben Willmott, Head of Public
(25 per cent) of employers expected Policy at the CIPD, said the research reducing workforce costs have been
to make at least some permanent showed many businesses were already taken,” Willmott said. “Organisations
redundancies. Nearly one in six (15 considering redundancies, rather that are most successful in protecting
per cent) expected to make up to 10 than utilising the government’s job jobs and supporting their employees
per cent of their existing workforce retention scheme. will also be those that are most resilient
redundant, nine per cent anticipated “Making redundancies should be a and best able to recover once this crisis
having to lose up to 49 per cent, and last resort once all other options for has passed.”

CORONAVIRUS: NURSERY CLOSURES LEAD TO providing care for 11 while the
restrictions are in place.
CHILDCARE STRUGGLE FOR KEY WORKERS open with five staff members and
Owner Ffion Roberts has remained
another 19 have been placed on the
KEY WORKERS SAY they are UK government scheme which pays
struggling to find childcare for young 80 per cent of their wages.
children due to nursery closures as a A Welsh government scheme paying
result of the coronavirus outbreak. grants of £10,000 to all childcare
One nursery owner told the BBC providers, with a rateable value of
there was little incentive to stay open up to £100,000, is a great help with
due to the costs of paying staff to look overheads, she said.
after only a handful of children. But across Denbighshire, 87 of its
Nurseries are only allowed to 125 childcare settings had closed.
provide childcare for children of key “I have no fees coming in except
workers, such as those in the energy for the fees of the 11 children who are
sector, and vulnerable children. KEY WORKERS MAY STRUGGLE coming here,” said Mrs Roberts.
Ministers said they were working TO FIND CHILDCARE “But that doesn’t go anywhere near
with councils to find enough places. paying the five members of staff that
Schools are providing care for older children and babies and many are have bravely come in.
children of essential staff, such as struggling to balance the books under “If the balance sheet doesn’t
those who work in the NHS, in critical the new regime. balance, when all of this is over we
infrastructure and the care sector. For example, the Mill Child Care won’t be here and there’ll be a desert
But nurseries and other childcare Centre in Denbighshire has 118 of childcare provision for the threes
providers usually look after younger children on its books but is only and under.”

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