Campaigners who fell through loopholes in the UK’s emergency job retention scheme claim desperate people are being forced to go without food.
The warning comes on the day Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended the package of support, known as furlough, until October. It allows employers to claim 80% of wages for employees unable to work during the pandemic.
However, thousands of people were left stranded because they switched jobs at the cut-off date in February, or had not been on a new payroll in time to qualify.
Members of the New Starter Justice Group say people have gone two months without income.They reported an “influx” of calls for food and financial aid around the end of April, which would have been pay-day for those now stuck in