Over 70 per cent of firms furlough staff as CJRS scheme goes live

The business organisation’s weekly tracker poll showed a steady increase in the proportion of respondents furloughing staff in anticipation of the Job Retention Scheme going live on Monday, 20 April.

This week, the tracker indicates that 71 per cent of firms have furloughed a proportion of their staff, up from 66 per cent last week.

More specifically, 30 per cent said they have furloughed between 75 and 100 per cent of their workforce, while 28 per cent have furloughed no staff.

BCC revealed that business continued to face a cash crisis, with 59 per cent of firms reporting that they have three months cash in reserve or less.

With payday approaching for many firms, the government’s Job Retention Scheme, which began accepting applications this week, has only a short time to get much-needed cash to firms facing urgent financial difficulties.

“With around 140,000 claims made on the very first day, this is a crunch week for businesses relying on the Job Retention Scheme to pay their staff,” said BCC director general Dr Adam Marshall.

According to BCC, initial reports suggest that the online application portal is meeting business demand, and attention will now shift to whether payments reach businesses as planned within six working days of making an application.

“HMRC’s capacity to deal with the demand from business has been encouraging so far – and their staff working under immense pressure to get it up and running deserve our recognition and thanks,” said Dr Marshall.

“It is now critical that payments from the furlough scheme reach businesses as smoothly and as quickly as possible in order to protect jobs and livelihoods.”

He noted ministers will also need to consider keeping the scheme in place for longer, to help businesses transition as the lockdown is eased and the economy moves gradually towards a new normal.