Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
EXCLUSIVE: The Bank of England is eyeing payroll finance technology as a possible successor to the furlough scheme, which ends in October.
The coronavirus jobs retention scheme will cost the government £60bn in total but industry is braced for millions being made redundant when the scheme closes on October 31.
PwC estimates that without any extension one in five of those now on furlough will be made redundant. The Bank of England itself estimates that unemployment will almost double to 7.5 per cent by the end of the year, as things stand.
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Called the Working Capital Jobs Retention Scheme, the ground-breaking payroll technology is the brainchild of David Brown, fintech entrepreneur and chief executive of Hi55. The WCJRS would enable the banks to fund up at least £4,300 per employee risk free, throwing businesses another working capital lifebelt.
This is because EU law stipulates that all European governments must still cover payroll for a fixed period should their employer go bust. The Employment Rights Act has been law since 1996.
In the UK the government must step in and pay each employee £538 for each