Many news stories have been written of late regarding the prospect of a large number of the employees who are currently furloughed from their employment being made redundant over the coming months. In response, the government has introduced one small measure aimed at addressing the problem.

What is the government proposing?

Rishi Sunak has acknowledged that the government cannot save everyone's job and that large-scale redundancies are almost inevitable. Nevertheless, he has recently announced that for each furloughed worker who is retained in their current employment until at least 31 January 2021, the employer will receive a one-off bonus payment of £1,000. It is worth nothing that this bonus applies to most (but not all) workers currently furloughed by their employers.

This is a small gesture, but it is nevertheless a welcome one. It may just be enough to encourage some businesses to think that little bit more carefully before cutting their headcount quite as deeply and quite as quickly.

If you would like to read more about the scheme, here is a link to a recent BBC article:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52135342