News
Mayor’s plea to the Chancellor
Southwark Works has been successfully working with businesses large and small for over 15 years
The Mayor of London has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to express his concerns about the tapering of the furlough scheme. Sadiq Khan said he had “grave concerns” about the approach Chancellor Rishi Sunak was taking and warned of the “devastating impact” that the closure of the scheme at the end of October will have. The multi-billion-pound furlough scheme was introduced in March in a bid to protect companies and jobs. It enabled companies to claim 80% of the wages of furloughed staff (up to a cap of £2,500 per month) from the state. From September 1 the government committed to pay 70% of wages up to a maximum cap of £2,187.50 for the hours the employee is on
furlough. In October, however, the scheme will end.
and its most disadvantaged residents.
Sadiq Khan has urged the Chancellor to extend the scheme to protect millions of London workers and companies in key sectors such as retail, creative, culture and hospitality.
“It is not too late to change course and avoid a sudden unemployment cliff edge at the end of October. As you will know, Germany has recently announced the extension of its support for furlough until the end of next year, following France.
In his letter he said: “As leading voices from the business community have also pointed out, when the scheme ends we are likely to see a significant number of redundancies among previously furloughed employees. The result of this is certain to be a spike in unemployment affecting some of London’s poorest areas,
“I am therefore urging you to follow their example to help save jobs, and announce an extension of government support – at the very least to those sectors of the economy most affected by the pandemic and which are unable to do business sustainably for the foreseeable future.”
Major milestone for ULEZ London has come a step closer to expanding the world’s-first Ultra Low Emission Zone with the installation of the first new cameras. The Ultra Low Emission Zone currently covers the same area as the Congestion Charge Zone and the new cameras will enable it to expand up to the North and South Circular in October 2021 – spreading the benefits of cleaner air across the city. Thousands of deaths in the capital each year are attributed to poor air quality, while emerging evidence suggests there is a link between pollution, higher rates of infection and a worse recovery from coronavirus. The larger zone is vital to ensure that, as London recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, one public health crisis is not replaced with another. The expanded zone will help all Londoners breathe cleaner air. The ULEZ schemes will reduce harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from road transport by around 30% across the whole city, improving air quality for millions of Londoners.
Cameras are deemed to play an essential role in making the ULEZ effective. The central zone has seen the number of vehicles meeting the tough emission standards rise from 39% in February 2017 to more than 80%. It has also had a transformational impact on air pollution, contributing to a 44% reduction in roadside nitrogen dioxide within its boundaries. The area covered by the existing Congestion Charge and ULEZ has around 650 cameras. The new zone will be 18 times the size, but new technology means only around 750 additional cameras will need to be installed. Alex Williams, Transport for London’s director of city planning, said: “We are fully committed to cleaning up London’s toxic air, and expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone will play a key role in discouraging people from driving heavily polluting vehicles.”
Whatever your company size and recruitment needs, we can tailor our services to support you and there is no cost involved in the recruitment process. From sourcing candidates or apprentices to helping with Job Descriptions, screenings, applications, virtual interviews etc we can provide an end to end service that suits your business needs. We advertise through as many channels as possible – including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and through our well established provider networks. During the Covid19 pandemic we have continued to work with busineses remotely and held a virtual job fair in July with over 20 employers and 400+ candidates participating. We are now continuing to source candidates for those employers and placed our first apprentices and candidates into work with them in August. All at no cost to the employers. We can also help with things like accessing Government grants for taking on apprentices (currently £2,000 for a 16-24 year old) and getting information about other employment programmes such as Kickstart. We could help your business with any future recruitment needs – don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like to find out more about how we can support your business. info@southwarkworks.org.uk Tel: 0800 052 0540
WHY SOUTHWARK WORKS? 4 We do not charge for our recruitment services 4 We can source consistently high levels of quality candidates through our strong links with referral partners 4 Candidates undergo a rigorous screening process in order to ensure they fit the employers’ criteria 4 We provide office space for interviews, employer meetings and screening free of charge 4 Employers save money and resource on HR and advertising costs 4 We provide a dedicated point of contact for all employers 4 We offer support whilst on the job and mentoring for all candidates Please contact our team of experts to find out how you can get professional recruitment advice and make a difference to the lives of many Southwark residents.
Tel: 0800 052 0540 Email: info@southwarkworks.org.uk
EMPLOYERS WE HAVE WORKED WITH • • • • • • • • • • • •
Hoxton Hotel • Southwark Council Premier Inn • Aqua Restaurants Tideway Tunnels • Lendlease Network Rail • Erith Notting Hill Genesis • Keltbray National Theatre • Secret Cinema The Shangri-La Hotel ... AND MANY Sainsbury’s MORE! APCOA Parking Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Trust Multiplex Marks & Spencer
Southwark BUSINESS TODAY 11
