Further fixes to coronavirus safety net needed as millions see hit to their incomes

Citizens Advice fears the government’s bold action to protect workers during the coronavirus pandemic could be undermined by confusion and patchy use of the job retention scheme by some employers. 

The charity’s frontline advisers, who are at the forefront of the response to this crisis, are seeing cases on a daily basis of people who are at risk of slipping through the safety net despite potentially being entitled to government support. 

New research from Citizens Advice shows around 6 million people in the UK (18% of the total workforce) have already seen their hours cut, been laid off or made redundant. And almost four out of 10 (38%) people have lost household income because of this crisis, with nearly one in 12 (8%) losing 80% of their household income or more. 

Demand for the charity’s redundancy advice has doubled. Its web page "what to do if your employer has told you not to work" has been the most-read page this month with more than 175,000 views.

Citizens Advice welcomes additional government guidance on the jobs retention scheme which was issued on Saturday. The charity hopes the measures will help clear confusion about which employees can be furloughed and go further to protect many of the 6 million workers who have already seen a hit to their income.  

If it doesn’t, Citizens Advice believes the government may need to consider further options to ensure people can get support through the scheme, such as putting more pressure on employers or giving employees in certain situations a right to be furloughed.

‘If I pass coronavirus onto my daughter the chances are she would die’

Dad-of-four Mark returned to work as a HGV driver in February, after spending eight months caring for his daughter who is undergoing treatment for a rare cancer. But in March, the family were told they needed to self-isolate as his daughter is one of the 1.5 million who must be shielded from coronavirus. As he couldn’t return to work he was made redundant the next day. 

He said: “I spoke to my manager and explained that if someone in my home caught coronavirus and passed it onto my daughter the chances are she would die.

“They said that as a driver I would not be in contact with many people and could I not just self-isolate in my cabin. I said that wouldn't be possible.

“My family and their wellbeing comes first, so I have to accept that I no longer have a job. It's just really insensitive and feels wrong that they can let me go for following the government guidelines to shield my daughter as she is high-risk.”

Citizens Advice is helping people explain the latest government guidance to their current and former employers. However it fears that some may fall through the net due to confusion, or that a minority of employers may deliberately make employees redundant when they would be eligible for the scheme.

The charity is also calling on the government to look again at those who are not yet covered by the government’s Job Retention Scheme. This includes people who are at higher risk of coronavirus, such as those who are pregnant or have diabetes, but who are unable to work from home. It is also concerned about those who have recently become self-employed but are not covered by the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme. 

Dame Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:

“The government has unveiled a remarkable package of support to help people keep their heads above water during this crisis. It must now ensure employers are using this to protect their workers, as well as opening it up to cover even more people. 

“We’re already starting to see heartbreaking cases where employees have been denied help from the scheme and have instead been made redundant.

“While it’s not clear how much of this is due to confusion, cash flow fears, or the need to downsize, we think the government needs a clear plan to protect people if the support is not filtering through. That is the only way to reduce the burden on the benefits system, and retain the link between an employer and their staff.”

Notes to editors

Citizens

1. Citizens Advice has published its recommendations to the government on supporting workers in its report “Ensuring people do not fall through the gaps in the government’s employment support schemes.”

2. Between 2 and 7 April Opinium surveyed 2,016 UK adults. The data was weighted to be representative of the UK population.

3. When asked ‘Has your work situation changed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak?' 233 respondents answered either 'I’ve had my hours/shifts reduced', 'I’ve been temporarily laid off/made redundant until the crisis is over' or 'I’ve been laid off/made redundant permanently.' This makes up 18.48% of the working population and 11.56% of the overall population. Using the ONS mid-year 2018 population estimate of 52,383,965 adults (18+) in the UK, we can therefore extrapolate that this has effected 6.05 million individuals.

4. Citizens Advice gave one-to-one advice to 1,850 people with redundancy issues in March 2019, compared to  3,795 in March 2020

5. On Saturday, the government clarified its guidance on the Job Retention Scheme to make it clear that it covered a whole range of workers, including those on zero-hours contracts, and those who need to stay home as someone they live with is shielding. The guidance also says that if employees were made redundant, after 28 February, they can be rehired and put on furlough, meaning the employer can reclaim the cost of the wages from the government

6. People can find frequently updated advice on a range of issues related to the Coronavirus outbreak at citizensadvice.org.uk/coronavirus. 

7. The availability of face-to-face services will be affected during the outbreak. If people need to speak to someone for advice, they should check our website for the status of their nearest Citizens Advice.

8. Citizens Advice includes the national charity; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

9. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and post. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers.

10. The Citizens Advice Witness Service provides free, independent support for prosecution and defence witnesses in every criminal court in England and Wales.

11. Citizens Advice offers Pension Wise services at 500 locations in England and Wales.

12. Citizens Advice’s services are free, independent, confidential and impartial, and available to all regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.

13. To get advice online or find your local Citizens Advice, visit citizensadvice.org.uk

14. For consumer advice, call the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 to talk in Welsh.

15. We helped 2.6 million people face to face, by phone, email and webchat in 2017-18. For service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

16. Citizens Advice staff are supported by over 23,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 locations in England and Wales.