Almost 70% of UK firms apply for job retention plan - ONS

Two thirds of UK companies applied for the government’s emergency scheme to pay workers who are laid off temporarily during the coronavirus crisis, said the latest report from the Office for National Statistics on Thursday.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, introduced by the government to help companies through the effects of the lockdown measures, has been very popular with UK firms with 66% of companies saying they had applied, while 56% had sought deferrals of value-added tax.

The scheme’s main aim is to slow the rising unemployment levels that could hamper an economic recovery after the lockdown.

Under the scheme – due to run until the end of June – the Government pays 80% of wages of workers laid off because of the current crisis, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month.

The ONS said its survey covered the April 6-19 period and was based on responses from 5,158 businesses.

Around 25% of those surveyed said that their turnover had fallen by more than half the normal levels. On the other hand, 30% said they had not been affected.

The data revealed that 19% of firms that have applied to the scheme have received help since it went live on April 20.

Applications worth around £4.5 billion had been made as of April 24, with 77,000 new claims on Thursday last week alone.