Press release: Urgent clarity required over binned bonus billions

SNP MP David Linden has called for urgent clarity from the UK Government over the Job Retention Bonus which was quietly scrapped by the Treasury last month.

The cash grant for businesses, originally announced by the Chancellor in July, was to be available to each of the 1.2million employers which had furloughed staff throughout the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and would have paid out £1,000 per retained employee.

The Treasury has sought to explain the sudden change in policy as being a result of the extension of the furlough scheme, however many businesses have voiced major concerns that they now face a black hole in their finances in February.

The Glasgow East MP David Linden echoed these concerns today in the House of Commons, calling for clarity over the billions in support that has now been withdrawn.

David Linden MP said:

"Not all businesses need to re-furlough staff, and many who won’t were counting on the £1,000-per-employee Job Retention Bonus.

"Many businesses have already factored this bonus into their forecasts and will have been counting on this income to help them through a difficult economic time.

"By binning the bonus, the Chancellor has blasted a black hole in the books of countless businesses across the UK and put jobs in jeopardy.

"When the Chancellor announced the Job Retention Bonus in July, he said: ‘Our message to business is clear: if you stand by your workers, we will stand by you’ . He should have been a bit more honest and instead told business that ‘I’ll offer a bonus but it’ll turn out to be bogus’."