Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, is demanding that the Chancellor Rishi Sunak includes new starters in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
New starters are people in the United Kingdom who changed their jobs after 28 February 2020. As a result of lockdown, they have been left with no work and no income, ineligible to apply for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
This week, the Chancellor announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be extended until October. This is greater news for the workers it is currently supporting, but frightening for those it is not.
New starters now know that they are facing up to eight months with no income through no fault of their own.
The Chancellor has said that there are other options available to new starters, but New Starter Justice have not found this to be the case. 96 percent of ex-employers are refusing to reemploy and furlough new starters. 83 percent of new starters are entitled to £0.00 on Universal Credit.
New Starter Justice have sent an open letter signed by 8,500 people to the Chancellor, demanding Government support.
Andrew Gwynne MP said:
“The Chancellor said that nobody would be left behind, so how can it be right that new starters are facing up to eight months with no work, no income and no support from the Government?
“I am supporting New Starter Justice as they demand that they are included in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
“No loophole that has the potential to force hundreds of thousands of families into extreme financial hardship is defensible.”