With over 63,500 employers registered for the scheme and over 400,000 people relying on it to keep them employed there is naturally a lot of angst about how long the scheme will continue for and how it will end.
The scheme was a knee-jerk reaction to an unprecedented situation that could not have been foreseen. What that means is that it was created and run very quickly and with no real plan. Employers and employees have been gratefully accepting the assistance, but cautious as to how long it will last and what the actual cost of it will be.
On Monday the Minister for Finance, Pascal Donohoe, could only confirm that the scheme “…will not come to an abrupt end, because were that to happen that itself creates the risk of jobs being lost,”.
He also indicated that as of August the Government would begin to make changes to the payment as the economy began to reopen.
The matter is further complicated by the fact that the Government has changed recently, but it is hoped that employers will get further information in the month of July to help them prepare for any changes in August.
We will keep you updated as we learn more.
Stay safe and wash your hands!