What just happened?
In a recent interview, Government Chief Scientific Advisor Sir Patrick Vallance has claimed that the UK is predicted to be facing an increase of 50,000 cases per day in the following month if no further actions are taken into hand. Indeed, cases are already rising in thousands per day, which is causing a lot of stress within the NHS, leading to them being unable to accommodate those who are suffering from serious symptoms of COVID-19.
The Government engineered even more safety measures to protect the nation and NHS by introducing local lockdowns, also known as the “Three Tier Lockdown” system. [[1]][[2]]
According to The Guardian, these were the restrictions of the Three Tier Lockdown System:
Tier 1 (Medium Alert)
· Covers most of England.
· Residents from Tier 1 Region has to abide to the “Rules of Six”.
· Businesses such as pubs, bar, restaurants have to follow a curfew and close at 10pm BST.
Tier 2 (High Alert)
· “Rules of Six” still applies.
· No mixing of households allowed regardless indoor or outdoor.
· Businesses are allowed to remain open with a curfew, however keeping a restriction of no mixing between households.
Tier 3 (Very High Alert)
· Applies all rules according to Tier 2 with stricter restrictions.
· Entertainment/leisure businesses such as pubs, bar, and clubs need to be shut down.
· Restaurants or pubs acting as restaurants are still allowed for operation.
· Closing down all wedding receptions.
· Local politicians will have the authority whether businesses
such as gyms, beauty salons, shops etc. should remain open or closed.
· Schools and universities are to be remained open.
· Abide to travel restrictions, unable to travel to outside areas. [[3]]
The effectiveness of the policy can be seriously questioned when considering the sudden announcement of a second national lockdown. The government may have lacked in foresight with how the virus would spread and clearly placed their confidence in the wrong methods.
Keir Starmer accused Boris Johnson of failing to learn the 'central lesson' from the first wave of the coronavirus in the UK.
What does this mean?
Due to the closure of a lot of businesses in the lockdown earlier this year, COVID-19 has most certainly taken a hit on the UK economy with many companies slowly retrenching thousands of jobs across the UK. The fear now is that the recently introduced Three Tier Lockdown system and new limitations on social gatherings may pose an even greater threat to the already struggling economy.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the unemployment rates from June to August was 4.5% which has now risen by 0.4% in the space of a few months. This means that an estimated 1.5 million residents in the UK are currently unemployed. [[4]]
One of the worst-hit sectors was aviation after governments all over the World issued various travel bans and restrictions, resulting in approximately 7.5 million flights from British Airways being cancelled between January and August. A small protest was conducted towards BA by the trade union Unites, in hopes of raising awareness of how BA had handled the crisis badly. A number of people working as BA’s cabin crew had to adapt a policy known as “fire and rehire”, where employees chose to resign or receive a lower paycheque. It has been reported that British Airways had cut 12,000 jobs in April, with the potential for this number to continue to rise. [[5]] Another airline company, Flybe, also had to cut 2,000 jobs which prompted its collapse in March. [[6]]
In August, the Bank of England declared that by the end of 2020, unemployment rates could rise up 7.9%. The Office for Budget Responsibility given an optimistic long term view of unemployment rates rising up till 9.7%, then slowly dropping to pre-pandemic level in 2022. Nonetheless, in a more pessimistic scenario, unemployment rate will peak at 13.2% in 2021, connoting that about 4 million people will be out of jobs. The rates will slowly decrease by the end of 2024 to 6.3%, yet still remaining above the level before the crisis. [[7]]
How does this affect the legal sector?
While many job sectors have struggled during the pandemic, the legal sector has shown an increase in clientele. This does not come as a shock, as some people who have lost their jobs were unsatisfied with their sudden retrenchment. Many are now seeking legal advice from lawyers, in hopes of getting a better settlement deal from their employers. Not only that, employers who are worried about being sued after retrenching or terminating employees have also turned to lawyers. Pinsent Mason, an international law firm based in London, England, are now offering legal advice for both employers and employees. Their firm wrote an article titled – “Coronavirus job retention scheme: what employers should do”. [[8]]
A few schemes have been introduced to the UK, for example, Coronavirus Retention Job Scheme and Self-employed Income Support Scheme. These are to aid both employers and employees for financial support and sustaining businesses during the current hardship. Further, the UK government has launched a scheme for jobseekers worth up to £238 million. It has been announced that Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) aims to assist those who have been out of work for the past three months due to the pandemic. Jobseekers will be offered unsolicited advice and coaching, then will be moved into “growing sectors” in the UK, which is an integral part of the job employment programme. [[9]]
Written by Elene Chuah
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References:
[1] BBC UK News, “Covid-19: UK could face 50,000 cases a day by October without action – Vallance” (BBC UK News, 21st September 2020) https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54234084
[2] Jamie Johnson, Harry Yorke, Dominic Penna, “What the new three-tier lockdown rules mean for you”, (The Telegraph, 19th October 2020) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/10/19/uk-lockdown-three-3-tier-rules-restrictions/
[3] Haroon Siddique, “Tier 1, 2, 3? England’s Covid lockdown rules explained”, (The Guardian, 15th October 2020) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/15/tier-1-2-or-3-englands-three-stage-covid-lockdown-rules-explained
[4] Ben King, “Unemployment rate: How many people are out of work?”, (BBC News, 16th October 2020) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52660591
[5] John Harris, “ ‘Devastation’: how aviation industry’s Covid crisis is hitting towns across UK”, (The Guardian, 24th August 2020) https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/24/devastation-how-aviation-industrys-covid-crisis-is-hitting-towns-across-uk
[6] BBC News, “Collapsed Flybe tells passengers not to travel to airports”, (BBC News, 5th March 2020) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51746564#:~:text=UK%20airline%20Flybe%20has%20gone,to%20blame%20for%20its%20collapse
[7] Ben King, “Unemployment rate: How many people are out of work?”, (BBC News, 16th October 2020) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52660591
[8] Out-Law Analysis, ““Coronavirus job retention scheme: what employers should do”, (Pinsent Masons, 6th November 2020) https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/analysis/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-employers
[9] BBC UK News, “Covid-19: Government launches £238m scheme for jobseekers”, (BBC UK News, 5th Octover 2020) https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54412574
Disclaimer: This article (and any information accessed through links in this article) is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.