Redundancy advice calls triple as furlough scheme winds down - BBC News
Conciliation service Acas says thousands more people are calling for redundancy advice.
Citizens Advice had the highest daily number of visitors to its website topped four times in one week

Thousands of firms and employees are seeking redundancy advice as the coronavirus crisis continues to bite into the UK economy.

Conciliation service Acas said calls to its redundancy advice line almost tripled in June and July, as concerns mounted about the government's job retention scheme winding down.

There has been a spate of redundancies as some firms struggle to stay afloat.

Nearly 4,500 jobs have been cut only a few days into August.

In June and July, calls to the Acas helpline to talk about redundancy rose nearly 170% compared with the same months last year, from more than 12,000 to more than 33,000 calls.

In July, Citizens Advice said it had also seen a surge in demand for redundancy advice.

Acas chief executive Susan Clews said: "At the moment, nearly a third of calls to our helpline are redundancy-related.

"The economic impact of coronavirus, alongside fears around the furlough scheme tapering off, has left many employers and their staff concerned about their future livelihoods."

The latest figures from the government show 9.6 million jobs - about a third of the private sector workforce - have been furloughed during the pandemic, at a cost of £33.8bn to the Treasury.

Businesses began to pay towards the furlough scheme from the beginning of August, putting more pressure on struggling firms. The scheme ends in October.

Acas recommended that employers should look for alternatives to redundancies, which should be used as a last resort.

These alternatives include consulting staff "on ideas that can help mitigate the financial difficulties that the business may be facing due to coronavirus", such as:

A number of major employers have announced job cuts since strict coronavirus lockdown rules were announced on 23 March.

According to the Press Association news agency, these include:

July 17: Azzurri Group (owns Zizzi and Ask Italian) - up to 1,200

July 14: DFS - up to 200 at risk

May 28: Debenhams (in second announcement) - "hundreds" of jobs