Hi All I have read a lot of post on this forum and others about people who have been recently made redundant due to Covid where they places they worked simply cant afford to keep them even with the furlough scheme as they cant afford the NI and Pension contributions anymore.
Myself and may other half are both in the same situation having both worked full time for the last 20 years we have been careful and tried our best but with no income we are struggling now and the job market is terrible so have been forced to go done the benefits route and as we a home owner we only qualify for JSA which doens't cover food and bills only one (we live modestly and don't have a big house) and our bills are as low as we can get them but it looks like we are going to be forced into debt without some gov support. We like many others have been tax payers and tried out best and would normally be in work or be able to find more work in any other situation but Covid has broken many of the ways of life we were wall used to.
I have set up a petition to see if we can get enough momentum to maybe get some temporary help from the government similar to the furlough scheme but paid direct to the recently redundant instead of JSA or UC until at least when the furlough scheme ends and the job market picks back up. It only needs to be enough to cover utilities and food as many are already on payment holidays (i guess the recipient will budget where it goes) The only difference to the government is that they are not paying a company. This payment could also maybe help companies during this period take on new staff and provide them with training ready for when the market does pick back up
It just seems that these people like myself who have been contributors to society and only tried their hardest have been hung out to dry because the places they worked have had to shrink or close departments entirely and the employment market is tricky as you are over qualified for the lower paid roles or haven't worked if the industry for a lot of the more senior roles as they seem to only employ people based on if they have done the job for a competitor. It's a tough situation for the many people who genuinely want to work but cant find it! These families just need a little help in the interim, the focus seems to saving business which in turn should save jobs but for those who have already been cut there is nothing now or on the horizon which is surely going to affect their mental state which in turn is passed down to the little ones who don't understand why mummy and daddy are upset
I hop you can help out by helping this petition along with any others you feel you could help with, this year has been very tough and I think it really has hit home about how much we need each other.
The link is here and thanks again feel free to share amongst your friends and family (we understand that many might not agree with the premise of this petition but it would be nice if you could help out your fellow country people in their time of need and be glad you are not affected).
Thanks again
www.change.org/supportcovidredundants