Figures published by the Insolvency Service have shown a continuing decline in the number of notified collective redundancies (when an employer proposes to dismiss 20 or more employees on grounds of redundancy within a period of 90 days), taking the number to a seven-year low.
With the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) nearing on 30th September 2021, these figures suggest that levels of redundancies and unemployment may be lower then anticipated once the scheme ends.
The figures for August 2021 fell 60% below the number of notified collective redundancies from January 2021 (a decrease from 31,946 to 12,687). The highest level of collective redundancies reported was in June 2020 at 155,576, therefore the August level represents a 90% decrease from this peak. The CJRS statistics shows that there were a total of 1.9 million workers who remained on furlough leave at the end of June 2021. Therefore, the recent figures suggest that those currently furloughed may not be facing redundancy or unemployment when their furlough leave ends.
