Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant calls for rethink of the Government's Job Retention Scheme so new start employees are not penalised during Covid-19 coronavirus crisis

A Highland MSP is calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to end his punishment of new start employees.

Rhoda Grant, a Scottish Labour MSP for the Highlands and Islands and shadow finance minister, is asking Rishi Sunak to make changes to the guidelines of the HM Treasury’s Job Retention Scheme.

It was unveiled by the Chancellor to help businesses deal with the financial impact of the current coronavirus crisis and was designed to cover the cost of paying for millions of people who were suddenly left without work when businesses closed in an attempt to slow the spread of the pandemic.

Companies can use the scheme to pay their staff 80 per cent of their wages – up to £2500 a month.

But the Treasury has said qualifying employees must have been registered on the company's PAYE system by February 28 to limit the possibility of fraud.

This means those who were switching jobs at this time have fallen through the cracks, potentially facing months without a salary because their new employer cannot apply for the wages grants.

Employees who were on payroll on February 28 but have since left that job for whatever reason, not just redundancy, can be re-employed by their old employer and placed on furlough, similar to gardening leave, and be paid 80 per cent of their wages – up to £2500.

However, previous employers are under no obligation to do this.

Mrs Grant said: “I have written to the chancellor calling on him to put an end to his unfair punishment of workers whose only wrongdoing was to choose to change jobs and move forward in their careers before the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic was known.

"The chancellor must amend these rules to ensure that no one is left behind. As the scheme stands it discriminates against those who changed their job and leaves them dependent on a previous employer for their income. The campaign against the Treasury on this issue is colossal. It cannot be ignored.”

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