As one of the sadder consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic, most employers are going to have to look closely at whether or not to make significant job cuts to their current headcount. While some employers may view this as an opportunity to recruit and acquire staff either generally or in particular areas, most employers are going to be looking at scheduling necessary headcount reductions. The news that there are more than 7 million people currently on the Furlough Scheme has doubtless concentrated minds on the UK Government, which is why the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended until the end of July 2020 in its current format and is then being tapered rather than a cliff ending. Presumably some of the Government’s thinking is that some employees’ jobs may be saved, some employees’ jobs may be moved to part-time working, and to the extent that there are job losses, these will be scheduled over three months rather than one horrendous month.
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