Employee support scheme draws to a close
As the furlough scheme closes, we take a look back at what a difference it made to thousands of People Group’s contractors. Including many key workers during the most trying of times.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was first announced in a statement on 20 March 2020. Prior to receiving government funding People Group were among the first to react to support their workforce and make CJRS payments to contractors.
In an interview with Radio 4’s money box programme back in April 2020, People Group MD Terry Hillier explained why he made the decision to engage with the CJRS scheme. Stating primarily that it was the right thing to do. To support thousands of workers who would have otherwise been unpaid. The interview also featured the then MD of the FCSA Julia Kermode looking to defend the outdated contracts that many FCSA members were using. These old contracts meant furlough pay would be lower for many workers and in some cases non-existent while further guidance was awaited. Something which People Group had addressed previously when reviewing employment contracts.
While the systems were initially put in place at great speed, the constantly updated government guidance meant that the People Group team had to frequently amend systems to accommodate the latest updates.
Throughout 2020 and because of the support provided to many key workers, the videos, and notes of thanks from our customers was incredible. People Group received hundreds of messages including children of key workers saying what a difference we had made. You can read a few of these below.
In total People Group supported thousands of individuals, generated 70,000 pay slips and released funds of over £10 Million. We received over 100 video messages and 400 emails thanking us for supporting our workers. We have since been fully audited for our CJRS submissions and throughout it all, acted in the best interest of ‘People’.