Mid Ulster Council received £1.54m via furlough scheme

Mid Ulster District Council received £1.54m from the furlough scheme, it has been confirmed.
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The British government backed scheme, officially known as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme,  first introduced in March 2020, paid 80 per cent of the wages of those who couldn’t work, or those whose employers could no longer pay them, up to a monthly limit of £2,500.

It was originally due to close on October 31, 2020, but with the rising number of COVID-19 cases last winter, the scheme was extended until September 30, 2021.

In July 2021 the 80 per cent figure was reduced to 70 per cent and in August it was reduced to 60 per cent with employers paying up to 20 per cent.

Mid Ulster Council officesMid Ulster Council offices
Mid Ulster Council offices

With the scheme coming to a close at the end of September, a spokesperson for Mid Ulster District Council explained the local authority only availed of it until May of this year and that Council staff furlough between March 2020 and December 2020 were paid in full.

“From March 2020 to May 2021, Council received £1.54m via the furlough scheme, which was used to offset the losses which were incurred as a result of the pandemic (in the region of £620,000 per month),” said the spokesperson.

“Until December 2020, all staff were paid in full and from January 2021, staff were either redeployed or received the 80 per cent furlough payment and then were able to use 20 per cent accrued annual leave, if they wished, which equated to 100 per cent pay and addressed any issue of financial detriment.”

A table of how many Council staff were furloughed each month reveals May and June 2020 saw the highest number of Council employees furloughed with 377 and 375 respectively.

The table is as follows.

March ’20 – 282 employees

April ’20 – 299 employees

May ’20 – 377 employees

June ’20 – 375 employees

July ’20 – 154 employees

August ’20 – 62 employees

September ’20 – 50 employees

October ’20 – 0 employees

November ’20 – 188 employees

December ’20 – 189 employees

January ’21 – 210 employees

February ’21 – 209 employees

March ’21 – 199 employees

April ’21 – 151 employees

May ’21 – 41 employees

 

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