Furlough extended until end of September?

[Thedarksideofthemoon30]

Wtf.. how are we ever going to pay this back? And why have they extended it?!

Well because they have to give them self time, everything is opening up slowly but you can’t leave people with jobs in which are not opening up until last with no means to survive.

Are you someone who has been furloughed op?

The budget is tmw, are you physic?

Better than mass unemployment... if people lose their jobs instead it will have a knock on effect on other businesses too as all those people stop spending money.

It was released today that it was being extended

To keep the unemployment figures down for as long as possible?

If things reopen by midsummer it won't be needed because people can't work, but it might just keep companies who've lost so much staggering on a while longer if they don't have to pay all their staff

And "who'll pay for it?" won't matter to the current government, who'll be long gone before the real bills come in

Really this government only knows how to manage by deliberately leaking its own news days in advance. They think we are in need of nudge and slow immersion, obviously.

Hopefully, less & less people will actually need it as we head into summer BUT it would be unfair/unkind/immoral to not have it for the industries that will be last to open up fully. Large, mass gathered events aren’t happening this year, or I’d be very surprised) & there’s a lot of people that go into organising & running these kind of events..

Plus, let’s face it, the road map will probably end up being extended 🙈

To keep the unemployment figures down for as long as possible?
I totally agree with you but I don't understand why the figures themselves matter.

Say (for example) furlough had not existed and instead some people had been forced to claim benefits such as UC, why would the unemployment figures have mattered if billions had been saved?

We either pay people via unemployment benefits or we pay them via furlough. At least with the furlough scheme, as industries open up, there is an immediately mobile workforce ready to return.

@Thedarksideofthemoon30

Wtf.. how are we ever going to pay this back? And why have they extended it?!

Err perhaps op because a lot of places can’t open until may / June earliest and that’s if everything goes to plan . If your worried about paying it back well this pandemic has already cost as it is . Isn’t it better than mass redundancy? Hopefully by late summer all being well things may be back to normal so no reason for furlough. Yab massively unreasonable to start another thread about furlough.

I suppose they’ve leaked it today to prepare us for the inevitable tax rises in tomorrow’s budget.

600k "excluded" now apparently will be included, I really hope I am ...

Say (for example) furlough had not existed and instead some people had been forced to claim benefits such as UC, why would the unemployment figures have mattered if billions had been saved?

Probably because of the optics? Another few £billion is easily brushed aside when so much has already been wasted, but you can bet your bottom dollar the media will make a huge thing out of unemployment figures

Obviously they have to keep it in place until they are no longer forcing businesses to be closed.

Without furlough many people would have been left without a job or access to benefits if they had savings in excess of £16,000.

Because compnies have been shut!! They can’t have 100 staff in on day one and start paying them, where is the money coming from?

With it extended until September they can bring staff in slowly until the business builds back up and they have more money to pay all staff again.

In some industries, opening back up with retained staff who know the business will save a lot of time and money. If staff were just let go, they would have to hire and train a whole new group of staff. I think, despite its cost, furlough is one of the few things the government got right.

Good news

What about the 3 million SE who missed out on any help

Because companies have been shut!! They can’t have 100 staff in on day one and start paying them, where is the money coming from?
With it extended until September they can bring staff in slowly until the business builds back up and they have more money to pay all staff again

Beautifully put

Whether it's a good idea and how it'll be paid for is something else, but this explains the rationale really well

Probably because nothing much will open fully before then, wasn't it all talk of autumn 2021 before?

Only businesses that have a good chance of surviving financially are still furloughing people, because it costs the employers money. A lot of people have been made redundant. There are some issues with the system, but realistically its better than putting millions of people onto UC or other benefits.

Who will be paying for it? My grandchildren will be paying for it (my eldest child is 9!) Thats the time scale we are probably looking at. There is going to be a very grim period, in my area the county council is in financial trouble despite previously being one of the more financially secure councils. They had been making up some of the huge cuts from central government with profit making businesses, which have mostly made a loss recently because of Covid. And of course the county council funds school and social care - they care for the most vulnerable. Also the gaps so far in cuts to council services have largely been filled by community groups and charities run by volunteers. As the pension age increases, the supply of active retired people will slowly reduce. With no money and no volunteers things like libraries and community groups will just close.

Because people receiving a furlough income can spend money which means that other people can stay employed. It is a way of keeping the whole country going, and building in an upwards direction.

People receiving benefits can only spend on basic essentials such as food and heating - and barely that, so the economy also tanks.

Money is like the life-blood of a country. It needs to move around in order to bring life to all parts.

It most certainly is not about the 'numbers' or what the media might say. That is politics not economics.

Someone on Twitter said 'Furlough won't be needed past June as most businesses will be doing a roaring trade and rolling in money." As I have said before, some people really are a little delusional as to how this will all plan out. I am dreading how the next few years will look for us all in terms of all this borrowing. I know people will say it's better than mass unemployment but it is still terrifying.