People Management Headlines –

• Coronavirus is already having a significant impact on the jobs market, employers plans to hire and the recruitment industry as a whole, experts have warned. Employment in Britain hit a record high in January before the outbreak of the virus, according to official figures, but the country is bracing for a wave of job losses and hiring freezes amid the crisis. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics – which cover November 2019 to January 2020 – showed the number of people in work increased by 184,000 in the three months to January, reaching a record high of 33 million. The employment rate rose to a joint-record high of 76.5 per cent. For more information and the full and original article visit People Management website.

• Freelancers and the self-employed who are financially struggling as a result of the coronavirus will be able to claim 80 per cent of their monthly income from the government, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced yesterday. Under the new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, self-employed people who faced a loss of income because of the outbreak will be able to apply for taxable grants worth 80 per cent of their average monthly profits, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month. The average will be calculated based on profits over the last three years. The scheme will only be open to those who are already self-employed and filed a self-assessed tax return for 2019. It will not be available to high earners – defined as those with trading profits over £50,000.  For more information and the full and original article visit People Management website.
• Coronavirus: Your furlough questions answered. The coronavirus outbreak has hit UK businesses hard, and many face difficult decisions when it comes to the continued employment of staff.  For example, British Airways wrote a memo to all staff earlier this month telling them to expect layoffs as a result of the virus, and Gatwick Airport announced it planned to cut 200 jobs in response to grounded flights. Swedish fashion retailer H&M said on Monday (23 March) it was considering laying off tens of thousands of workers worldwide temporarily as it worked through interruptions to its business. To support struggling businesses, and their employees, the government last week (20 March) announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, offering employers grants from HMRC to cover 80 per cent of the wages of staff who are on the payroll but not working because of the outbreak, up to a maximum of £2,500 per worker per month. With guidance on the scheme updated by the government yesterday, People Management answers the most pressing questions for employers here.