Unfortunately, it does not seem like the Coronavirus pandemic is going anywhere, and people
are unsure of the future. The Government is doing its best to assist companies and people
through the unemployment slump that has gripped the UK, but the economy is not stable just yet.
Since the start of the pandemic, almost three million people across the UK have lost their jobs.
While these numbers might come as a surprise to most, the first six months of the lockdown
showed the unemployment rate stabilising at 3.9%, which is where it stood in January before the
start of the Coronavirus in the UK. With all the information finally tallying, it seems that the
the unemployment rate has increased to 4.1% while there were various predictions that it would even
higher to 6% and 9%.
The Government navigated through the unemployment hitting the country at the peak of the
pandemic to an extent, using the furlough scheme, where they were paying 80% of the salaries
of their employees, and by opening the economy at the beginning of August. Small restaurants,
pubs, hotels, and diners were open, with people visiting them.
Even with all of these changes, while the unemployment rate did not rise as significantly as
expected, it doesn’t seem to be stabilising with the opening up of businesses, shops and other
establishments. Unemployment is still a concern in the UK with people still losing their jobs
despite the conditions that are put forward.
They also put together a list of rules that people had to follow to keep themselves and others
safe. Some of these rules included making sure people began working remotely as much as
possible and following a certain requirement of the number of people who could be within an
office or closed space at a specific time. In most cases, they said that closed venues could only
hold 50% of their capacity, but there were exceptions. They were following a proper sanitisation
procedure for all public places. Additionally, people had to maintain the social distancing norms,
wear their masks, sanitise as much as possible.
Even with all of these changes, while the unemployment rate did not rise as significantly as
expected, it doesn’t seem to be stabilising with the opening up of businesses, shops and other
establishments. Unemployment is still a concern in the UK with people still losing their jobs
despite the conditions that are put forward.
Employers are working on adjusting to the new normal, and getting their staff to work remotely,
which was not followed in most establishments in the past. While many companies could adapt to
this almost immediately, depending on the industry, others could not. However, even businesses
like construction and hospitality are now focusing one taking whatever they can online to allow
people to get used to the process. Employers have started conducting the DBS check or CRB
check on their employees to make sure they have not done any jail time in the past, or do not
have a criminal record. While this process is becoming quite common in the UK, others handle
this process online where they go through the DBS certificate and get a proper understanding of
the person they are hiring since it could be needed to match some of the job descriptions.
