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MORE than 42,500 retail and restaurant jobs have been axed or put at risk since the beginning of lockdown as high streets struggle to survive.
M&S today became the latest retailer to confirm plans to cut 7,000 jobs over the next three months following the pandemic.
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It comes after The Sun revealed last night that the retail giant was planning to make cuts to its workforce.
Britain’s retailers are facing a double whammy of falling sales amid the pandemic and the ongoing shift to online shopping.
Despite non-essential retailers reopening across the UK, the number of visitors to high streets and other retail destinations is still a third lower than before the pandemic.
Debenhams, for example, has laid off 2,500 staff and has put itself up for sale.
Job losses since June 2020
MANY firms have announced job cuts since June as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. These include:
- Shoe chain Aldo collapsed into administration with five stores permanently closed
- Victoria’s Secret plunged into administration, putting 800 jobs at risk
- Fashion chain Quiz put its shop business into administration in , putting 82 stores at risk
- British Gas owners cuts 5,000 jobs, over half of which will be in management
- Airbus announces 1,700 job losses. It expects cuts to be made by summer 2021
- TM Lewin says it will close all 66 of its UK shops, putting 600 jobs at risk
- Harveys Furniture goes into administration resulting in 240 immdiate job losses and puts another 1,000 at risk
- Upper Crust plans to make 5,000 out of its 9,000-strong workforce redundant
- EasyJet says it plans to close hubs at Stansted, Southend and Newcastle, putting 4,500 jobs at risk
- John Lewis is reported to be planning to cut jobs and permanently close department stores
- Harrods has said it is consulting on cutting 680 jobs
- Virgin Money, which owns Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, will cut 300 jobs
- Topshop owner Arcadia has announced plans to cut 500 office staff
- Royal Mail is expected to cut 2,000 jobs as a result of coronavirus
It has hired advisers to look at a potential liquidation if it cannot find a buyer.
Meanwhile, Boots, WH Smith and John Lewis are among others shedding staff.
The hospitality industry has also been hit hard by Covid-19, although restaurants and pubs have received a boost by the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.
The government scheme gives diners 50 per cent off meals and non-alcoholic drinks, up to £10 a head, in restaurants, cafes and pubs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays throughout August.
Overall, retailers and restaurants have announced plans to axe or have already cut more than 42,500 jobs on the high street.
The figure includes major retailers slashing more than 1,000 jobs in one go, as well as those that plan to shed “just” a few hundred jobs.
For example, The Sun last week revealed River Island plans to axe 350 jobs.
While fashion chain M&Co is set to cut 380 jobs, and Currys PC World plans to shed 800 jobs in a store management shake-up.
What are my redundancy rights?
BEFORE making you unemployed, your employer should still carry out a fair redundancy process.
You are entitled to be consulted on the redundancy lay-off first and to receive a statutory redundancy payment, as long as you’ve been working somewhere for at least two years.
How much you’re entitled to depends on your age and length of service, although this is capped at 20 years. You’ll get:
- Half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22,
- One week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41,
- One and half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older.
Sadly, you won’t be entitled to a payout if you’ve been working for your employer for fewer than two years.
There should be a period of collective consultation as well as time for individual ones if your employer wants to make 20 or more employees redundant within 90 days or each other.
You are also entitled to appeal the decision by claiming unfair dismissal within three months of being let go.
The job losses have led to calls for targeted support schemes for the retail sector amid fears the government’s action won’t be enough to save jobs.
The furlough scheme comes to an end in October, and while Chancellor Rishi Sunak has launched a £1,000 bonus to firms for every furloughed staff they re-employ, there are fears there will still be thousands more retail jobs axed.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled his plan for jobs in the mini-Budget last month, alongside a VAT cut from 20% to 5%.
But Labour has called for a tailored hospitality and high streets fightback fund to protect jobs and help struggling firms in the sector.
It believes an underspend in coronavirus business grant schemes could be used to help local areas in distress, including restaurants and retailers.
Lucy Powell, shadow minister for business and consumers, said the M&S job losses are “devastating for the workers involved yet they also tell a much bigger story about the threat to our high streets”.
She added: “The scale of job losses was not inevitable but the incompetence of this Government means we’re now seeing wave after wave of redundancies, and store closures.
“Labour has called for a hospitality and high streets fightback fund to support businesses in distress and to save jobs now. Ministers must change course.”
The Sun contacted the Treasury for comment.
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Unemployment has so far risen by 730,000 workers since March after 114,000 Brits lost their jobs last month.
The Bank of England recently also predicted unemployment could hit 7.5 per cent due to the coronavirus crisis.
We explain how to apply for free grants of up to £10,000 if you’ve recently lost your job.
