Before making redundancies, employers should ensure they have searched through all of the support and funding available that can help to avoid or limit them, including the Job Retention Scheme.
Search the government’s business support finder tool for more available funding and support.
If you have to make redundancies, there are plenty of ways to help your employees through this tough time.
The government's Employer Help website collates useful advice and resources for employers to help their staff through redundancy, including helping them to:
As part of the government’s Plan for Jobs, a new £2 billion Kickstart Scheme will create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across the country.
The 6 month placements are open to those aged 16-24 who are claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long term unemployment. They will be available across a range of different sectors in England, Scotland and Wales. The first placements are likely to be available from November.
There will also be extra funding to support young people to build their experience and help them move into sustained employment after they have completed their Kickstart funded job.
Employers will receive funding for 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum auto-enrolment pension contributions.
Applications are being accepted now from employers or groups of employers – check the guidance for employers.
Government guidance
Read the government's official guidance for employers making redundancies, including:
Factsheet for employers
Read this 'Redundancy factsheet for employers' for more information on making redundancies. It includes information on the Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response Service, which provides employers and employees with advice on things like:
Contact the Department for Work and Pensions directly
Email DWP directly if you have specific questions relating to redundancy: employerservice.berkshirebuckinghamandoxford@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
There is specific guidance in the case of employers placing people on furlough and then making them redundant. Read this guidance here.
If you have furloughed staff, visit the 'Furloughing staff' pages of the Employer Help website for information and support to help your employees:
Jobcentre Plus can give you and your employees* support and advice through its Rapid Response Service. Support could include:
Jobcentre Plus may also provide on-site support for large-scale redundancies.
Learn more about Jobcentre Plus redundancy support.
*Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response Service is available to any paid employee, at the discretion of the Jobcentre District, who has lost their job or had their contract terminated as a result of workforce management measures.
Jobcentre Plus offers an extensive range of services to help you to grow and develop your business, including information on:
Read all about the different services Job Centre Plus can provide employers.
ACAS provides support for:
If an employer does not have enough work for their employees, they may need to consider:
These options may help avoid redundancies. But this should be a last resort for employers.
Employers should consider other options first, for example, agreeing with employees to:
Making redundancies brings added logistical challenges, such as how to consult employees who are working from home or on furlough, and how to elect representatives if collective consultation is required.
This article from Blaser Mills LLP highlights some of the main things for business owners to keep in mind when contemplating making redundancies.
The government's Job Help website collates advice and resources to help people:
See further information and support to help people find a new job on the Employer Help website.
If a claimant and/or employee requires support to retain employment due to a health condition or disability, they should contact their local Job Centre Pplus (JCP) and ask to be referred to the Employer Adviser (EA), who will take the necessary action.
Additional support can be offered in consultation with the Disability Employment Adviser (DEA), particularly where there are complex retention issues.
Often the DEA will support the EA to facilitate the retention directly with the claimant/employee and the employer.
Where necessary, the DEA can directly support employers to understand where an individual’s skills and experience would meet their businesses needs and where work solutions, such as access to work or implementing reasonable adjustments, could assist with both job performance and retention.
JCP colleagues can exceptionally refer a complex case to the Work Psychologist; the Psychologist will then take ownership of the case.
FSB Legal Protection Scheme
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) offers a Legal Protection Scheme giving you and your business access to a wide range of legal and tax support.
Learn more about the FSB Legal Protection Scheme.
FSB Legal Hub
The FSB provides online legal information, with over 430 factsheets and 750 legal documents to choose from, covering the key legal, HR, tax and health and safety issues that you might encounter when setting up and running your business.
You can also book a call back from the Legal Advice Helpline via the Legal Hub.
Read more information on the FSB Legal Hub.
FSB Employment Protection
The FSB's employment law advice service provides important information and guidance on employment legislation in the UK. FSB members have access to round-the-clock legal advice on all employment issues, as well as insurance protection in the event you are taken to an employment tribunal.
The key features include:
You can support your apprentices in the event of having to make them redundant by sharing the Redundancy Support Portal with them.
This portal will help them search for another apprenticeship and access available financial support.
For apprentices facing redundancy, working with organisations like yours could give them the chance to complete their apprenticeship. This offers loads of great benefits for you, such as:
You could also be eligible for incentive payments for hiring a new apprentice.
Learn more about hiring an apprentice who has been made redundant.
When you hire new apprentices between 1st August 2020 and 31st January 2021, you can apply for extra funding.
For apprentices aged:
The payment is in addition to the existing £1,000 you’ll already get for taking on an apprentice who is:
You can apply for the payment from 1st September 2020, after you add new apprentices to your apprenticeship service account. The first payments will be made from January 2021 and will be paid directly into employer’s bank accounts.
Apprentices who have been made redundant are eligible as long as they’re a new employee to your organisation.
Read detailed information on incentive payments for hiring an apprentice.
If you are employer with job vacancies to advertise:
Read this quick guide to the service, complete with tips on how to advertise your vacancies.
Further help to advertise vacancies
Visit the ‘Advertise your vacancies’ section of the Employer Help website for further information on:
Promote job vacancies on the Buckinghamshire Business First website
Buckinghamshire Business First members can post their job vacancies on the Jobs section of our website.
The Construction Leadership Council’s Talent Retention Scheme (CLC TRS) was conceived to help talented individuals showcase their experience and expertise and help businesses find the skills they need.
What does the CLC TRS offer employers?
Read more information on this scheme.
For further information about the CLC TRS portal, email: clcsupport@trs-system.co.uk
Through and beyond redundancy, make sure you look after your physical and mental health, and know where to point other people towards if they need support.
Visit the ‘Health and wellbeing’ webpages of the 'Employer Help website for a range of information and support
NHS Every Mind Matters
NHS Every Mind Matters provides expert advice and practical tips to help people look after their mental health and wellbeing.
Access to Work
Access to Work offers practical and financial support for employees with a disability or long term physical or mental health condition
Mental Health at Work
Mental Health at Work provides guidance about looking after yourself and your colleagues during isolation, as well as a number of toolkits offering a range of support.
If you or someone you know need to talk about coping with redundancy, visit:
Help inspire young people by raising awareness of the range of jobs and opportunities that the creative sector holds.
Via the Creative Careers website, you can promote any work experience vacancies or events or programmes you are running.
Find a course that's right for you
Search the National Careers Service 'find a course' tool to:
Use The Skills Toolkit programme to:
Digital and numeracy skills are valuable and sought after for all kinds of jobs. 82% of all job vacancies require digital skills.
A digital course could help you:
UK Learns provides access to certified courses, some of which are free of charge, to help people kickstart a new career.
You can search courses by:
You can also take a quiz to discover the right course for you.
Eiffage Kier Ferrovial BAM (EKFB) has launched its second CITB-funded training programme which offers free Plant Operator training to new entrants to the construction industry.
Training is completely free and is supported by partners who will be offering jobs and work placements on the HS2 project.
Find training, courses and qualifications through Lantra, the UK’s ‘Sector Skills Council’ for agriculture and farming.
Lantra provides information about:
Apprenticeships are for people of any age. Apprentices:
Read advice on getting yourself and your environment ready for online learning.
Code Institute is launching a pilot programme in early August, on which successful candidates will acquire advanced digital skills sets that are highly sought by employers.
The students will be supported throughout their learning journey and will have access to student care and tutor support.
Candidates should:
The final date for candidates to register interest is July 24th.
Register your interest now by emailing: aidan@codeinstitute.net
ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for the screen industries, working across the UK to ensure that film, television (including children's and high-end drama), VFX (visual effects), animation and games have the skills and talent they need..
Below are some of the training opportunities on offer with ScreenSkills.
High-end TV training and resources
See all of the up-to-date training courses and resources available for high-end TV professionals and new entrants into the industry. The page will be periodically updated with the latest opportunities, so check back for any updates.
The Indie Training Fund (ITF)
Part of ScreenSkills, the ITF runs training courses for freelancers and production companies across the UK. They’re a not-for-profit organisation led by their member companies, including many of the UK’s leading indies.
For a freelancer, attending an ITF course is not only a boost to your CV, but an opportunity for valuable peer-to-peer networking and career development advice.
Read more about the Indie Training Fund here.
Coronavirus basic awareness on production training
This free online learning module and assessment test is designed specifically for freelancers/crew working in physical production in the film and high-end TV industries. It explains the control measures and management systems that you can expect to find on productions following the outbreak of coronavirus. It will also test your learning and provide a certificate, if you pass.
This test would also be useful for anyone who works in events, hospitality, tourism or even those who meet with other people in education and training places.
The learning module takes approx. 40 minutes and the assessment test takes approx. 20 minutes.
Learn more about this production training.
Online events, training courses and learning modules, plus how to apply for mentoring, bursaries and funding
View all of the current training and learning opportunities available through ScreenSkills.
The National Careers Service offers free and impartial information, advice and guidance to help people with decisions about careers, courses and work.
Via the website, people can:
Visit the National Careers Service website to get started.
The Job Help website provides a raft of top tips and advice for job seekers, including:
Factsheet for employees
Read this 'Redundancy factsheet for employees' if you have been or are going to be made redundant. It includes advice on:
Learn more about your career skills, strengths and motivations with the National Careers Service's skills assessment tools.
There are 2 assessments to choose from:
After working through an assessment, you’ll get a report summarising your results, including suggestions about the job categories and job roles that might suit you.
Healthy Minds Bucks
Healthy Minds Bucks provides support for people who are experiencing a common mental health problem(s) and have employment-related issues. This applies whether you are currently employed, off sick from work or unemployed and looking to find work.
Delivered by Richmond Fellowship's Employment Advisors as part of the Healthy Minds Bucks team, the service:
Visit the Healthy Minds website for more information.
Buckinghamshire Mind
The Buckinghamshire Mind Employment Service provides guidance and support through courses aimed at increasing confidence, CV writing and employment skills.
The service provides support with employment forms and applications, preparation of a CV, interview techniques and advice with addressing the sometimes difficult issue of disclosing a previous illness.
Visit the Buckinghamshire Mind website for more information.
Buckinghamshire Business First's Be Your Own Boss programme is a start-up business support service that helps people develop the skills and meet the contacts they need in order to give their business idea the best chance of success.
Learn more about Be Your Own Boss at an introductory Enterprise Day, which covers:
More information on these events can be found below:
Be Your Own Boss Enterprise Day - 11th August 2020. Find out more here.
Government guidance
Government guidance on starting and running a business can be found here.
Apply for a Start Up Loan
Apply for a government-backed Start Up Loan of £500 to £25,000 to start or grow your business. Unlike a business loan, this is an unsecured personal loan.
You’ll get free support and guidance to help write your business plan, and successful applicants get up to 12 months of free mentoring.
Get help with writing a business plan
Download free business plan templates and find help and advice on how to write your business plan.
There is now a Redundancy Support Service for Apprentices, to support apprentices who have been made redundant or think they might be in the future.
You can call 0800 015 0400 to get free advice, find new apprenticeship/job opportunities, and access local and national support services offering financial, health and wellbeing, legal and careers advice.
Visit the Redundancy Support Service for Apprentices homepage for more information.
Find another apprenticeship
Use this online service to find another apprenticeship if you've been made redundant during the coronavirus outbreak.
Further support for apprentices made redundant
Find more information, including where to find financial support.
Building Futures is a Buckinghamshire-based project funded by the European Social Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund.
The following support is available for those who are unemployed:
See further information on the project website.
Enquiries can be made via e-mail to info@buildingfuturesbucks.org.uk.
Job profiles for a range of creative roles
There are hundreds of different job roles in film, TV, games, animation and visual effects and the range of skills they require is wide.
Learn what jobs like director, producer, games designer, animator, concept artist, matchmover and gaffer really entail, including:
View job profiles for a range of roles here.
Careers resources
Download resources about careers in the film, TV, animation, games or VFX industries, including:
View the careers resources here.
Experience life on set from home
The buzz of life on a working film set is being made accessible to the general public with a virtual reality (VR) experience delivered by headset, which can be also viewed on YouTube as a 360-degree video.
ScreenSkills commissioned the immersive experience to help demonstrate the excitement of working in the film and television industry and inspire the next generation of behind-the-camera professionals.
Search below for financial support available to help those made redundant.
Your may need to claim benefits if you are made redundant. Make sure you know what you can claim. This could include:
Benefits such as the above could help to top-up earnings whilst you look for other work.
Understand more about which benefits you could access
The government has made changes to the benefits system as a result of COVID-19. Read more about what financial support is on offer and how to claim it.
You may be able to access financial support to help pay for training and learning.
This could include:
Get money advice and help with budgeting from:
The Work and Health Programme helps you find and keep a job if you’re out of work.
It’s voluntary - unless you’ve been out of work and claiming unemployment benefits for 24 months.
The government's Job Help website collates advice and resources to help people:
The Kickstart Scheme is a 6 month paid job with a local employer, funded by the Government. It provides a fully funded opportunity for you to get experience of working in one of the UK’s most exciting companies.
Jobs from the Kickstart Scheme will be open to people 16-24 years old, who are claiming Universal Credit, and are at risk of long term unemployment. If you have a work coach they will talk to you about the Kickstart Scheme and whether it’s right for you. The first jobs should be available from November, so not long to wait.
Applications from employers are now underway, and we expect to have roles on offer in many different types of businesses, and across England, Scotland and Wales.
Talk to your work coach to find out more. If you don’t have a work coach, find out more about your career options
Search the latest job vacancies with Buckinghamshire employers.
Use Buckinghamshire Council's online job search tool to find current job opportunities across Buckinghamshire Authority and schools.
The Construction Leadership Council’s Talent Retention Scheme (CLC TRS) was conceived to help talented individuals showcase their experience and expertise and help businesses find the skills they need.
What does the CLC TRS offer job seekers?
Read more information on this scheme.
For further information about the CLC TRS portal, email:clcsupport@trs-system.co.uk
Align JV
Align JV was awarded a contract as part of HS2, consisting of 21.6km of high speed rail infrastructure. Search their list of vacancies here.
Eiffage Kier Ferrovial BAM (EKFB)
There are many job opportunities throughout the HS2 project, and Eiffage Kier Ferrovial BAM (EKFB), which has been appointed by HS2 to deliver civil engineering works across an 80km section of the new high speed rail link in the Buckinghamshire area, is advertising many local jobs. Search their list of vacancies here.
AECOM is a global infrastructure firm with local vacancies. Roles with the company include:
Check AECOM's current vacancies in the Buckinghamshire area.
The RAF offers a wide variety of career opportunities, including:
The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme helps businesses in the UK to innovate and grow by linking them with an academic or research organisation and a graduate to deliver a specific innovation project.
The academic or research organisation partner will help to recruit a suitable graduate, known as an Associate. They will act as the employer of the graduate, who then works at the company for the duration. The scheme can last between 12 and 36 months, depending on what the project is and the needs of the business.
KTP is one of the UK’s largest graduate recruitment programmes. There are over 300 job opportunities each year for graduates to lead KTP projects, working as a KTP Associate. The programme supports career development (every Associate is given a training and development budget) and often leads to a permanent job.
Graduate? Learn more about the job opportunities through KTP.
The deadline for applications to Innovate UK for the current round is 7th October 2020.
The BuDS Reach4Work scheme offers people skilled and semi-skilled volunteer work, with every volunteer role crafted to suit each individual.
If you are a job-seeker, this is your chance to gain highly employable skills and make a significant contribution to the community. Everything is online so you can join without leaving the house.
Eligibility criteria includes having a long term condition or disability - this includes all physical and mental health conditions and neurodivergent traits such as autism, ADHD or dyslexia.
View an online directory that brings together careers information and opportunities from creative organisations.
You can filter by areas of interest and career type.
See offers of support from businesses for employers considering or presently carrying out redundancies.
Blaser Mills LLP offers free video/telephone calls for employers affected by COVID-19 to discuss staffing issues such as redundancies.
Businesses are offering outplacement support services for employers that carry out redundancies.
Services can include the following for individuals made redundant:
Take a look at the below offers of support
Employers can get a free, confidential consultation on the various alternatives to redundancy. This offer comes from Working The Future.