PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Rate of pay for furloughed workers (20 April 2020)

That this House recognises that, for those workers covered by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, it is providing an essential safety net for many workers and their families during this crisis, ensuring businesses can maintain their workforce and enabling them to re-open in the future; notes that the Resolution Foundation estimates that 8 million workers could be furloughed under that scheme; further notes that that whilst Government is funding 80 per cent of the payroll for furloughed staff, employers are not obliged under terms of the scheme to top up the remaining 20 per cent to ensure no loss of pay; remains concerned about the financial impact on workers of receiving only 80 per cent of their usual take home pay, an impact which is particularly difficult for those on low pay; and therefore urges highly profitable corporations like McDonald’s, KFC, and JD Wetherspoons that have made millions from the labour of those same workers to step up and pay the remaining 20 per cent to ensure that their workers are not forced into debt and further poverty as a result of this significant cut in pay.

Sponsored by:
Ian Mearns (Labour)