Thousands of Dacorum workers still on furlough

Over 4,000 workers in Dacorum are still on furlough as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends next month.

New data has revealed that across Hertfordshire, tens of thousands of workers in Hertfordshire are still on furlough, in Dacorum 4,800 employees are on furlough.

The Government’s latest report showed more than 37,000 people in Hertfordshire were still being supported by the scheme at the end of June.

Last month the Government released its latest report into the number of workers still being supported by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme up until June 30, 2021 with over 1.8 million people in the UK still enrolled on the scheme.

These figures do not include people who have returned to work since most of the final legal restrictions were eased on July 19. However, it shows that with the scheme set to end at the end of next month, tens of thousands of people in Hertfordshire could be affected.

The Government is attempting to ease businesses off the scheme ahead of its end on September 30.

Changes made on August 1, mean the state will now pay a maximum of 60 per cent of an employee’s wage, with the employer expected to contribute 20 per cent of their staff’s usual wage.

This is down from the Government paying 70 per cent in July, and 80 per cent for much of the past year.

The figures revealed that 37,200 people in Hertfordshire were on furlough on June 30 (7 per cent of those eligible) – down from 46,800 claims (9 per cent) on May 31.

The data shows that 1.857 million people in the UK were still being supported by the scheme.

This includes people on both full furlough and on a flexible furlough.

The data is provisional up to claims made prior to July 14, and may be revised based on late claims or amendments.

The highest rate of claims in the county were reported in Hertsmere, where 9 per cent of workers are still on furlough and a total of 4,200 people.

Stevenage reported the lowest percentage of employees claiming in the scheme, with 5 per cent of workers still claiming furlough.

Across the county, the split is equal between genders with seven per cent of male and seven per cent of female employees remaining on the scheme.

Of the claims in Hertfordshire, most claims come from ‘wholesale and retail; repair of motor vehicles’ sector (5,440 employees), followed by ‘accommodation and food services’ (5,200), and ‘administrative and support services’ (4,120).

How does each district compare?

> Dacorum – 4,800 employees on furlough (7 per cent)

> Broxbourne – 3,500 employees on furlough (8 per cent)

> East Hertfordshire – 5,300 employees on furlough (8 per cent)

> Hertsmere – 4,200 employees on furlough (9 per cent)

> North Hertfordshire – 3,500 employees on furlough (6 per cent)

> St Albans – 4,000 employees on furlough (6 per cent)

> Stevenage – 2,100 employees on furlough (5 per cent)

> Three Rivers – 3,100 employees on furlough (7 per cent)

> Watford – 3,400 employees on furlough (7 per cent)

> Welwyn Hatfield – 3,500 employees on furlough (6 per cent).

In total, 205,700 employees in Hertfordshire have been supported by the scheme, with 11.6 million claims nationally. The current total of claims is estimated to be worth £67.4 billion.