Bar staff to get Furlough 2.0 cash in tier 3 lockdown areas
Boris Johnson has unveiled plans for ‘Furlough 2.0’ to help workers in ‘tier three’ areas hit by business closures.
The Prime Minister promised funding for employees in the pubs and bars forced to close by dramatic new coronavirus curbs announced earlier today.
Venues in the Merseyside area have been told to shut as the Liverpool region was put into tier three, leaving workers deeply concerned about their jobs and income.
But Mr Johnson announced in a press conference with Chancellor Rishi Sunak and England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty that staff in tier three areas would have their wages topped up by the government. He explained: ‘No one affected with be left to fend for themselves and we’re going to expand our unprecedented economic support.
‘Extending our job support scheme to cover two-thirds of the wages of those in any business that is required to close and providing those businesses with a cash grant of up to £3,000 a month, instead of £1,500 every three weeks.
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‘And extra funding too for those in the very high category for local test and trace and enforcement.’
Chancellor Mr Sunak, who previously announced the proposal last week, added that the Government’s ‘comprehensive plan’ would protect jobs and businesses over the winter, ensuring ‘no gap in support’.
He outlined how the existing furlough scheme will continue in October and the Job Support Scheme will be available from November for six months.
‘This national programme will benefit people the same wherever they live and whatever job they do,’ he said.
He stressed that the plan was in line with other European nations and also announced an extra £1.3 billion of funding for Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland administrations ‘if they choose to do something similar’.
But in a joint statement released this evening, Liverpool’s regional mayor Steve Rotheram, city mayor Joe Anderson and the leaders of Liverpool City Region said: ‘We must be clear that we have not yet reached an agreement on the wider economic support package that we require.
‘The national furlough scheme is inadequate and risks pushing tens of thousands of low paid workers below the national minimum wage, while the direct support to businesses is also less than that offered during the national lockdown.’
It continued: ‘Yesterday the metro mayor spoke with the Prime Minister and this morning attended COBR where he again reiterated these concerns in the strongest terms.
‘We have been assured by government that they will continue to engage in meaningful talks with us on these matters in the coming days and we intend to hold them to that promise. In the meantime, we are looking at what economic support can be provided locally, while we await further national government support.’
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