Coronavirus: Scots firms urged not to bring back workers early
- Published
Nicola Sturgeon has urged Scottish companies not to call staff back to work early while the coronavirus lockdown remains in place.
The UK government is asking those who cannot work from home in England to start returning to the workplace.
But Ms Sturgeon said she was "not yet encouraging more people to go back to work" north of the border.
She said her government was working with employers and trade unions on how staff could return to work safely.
The first minister said Scottish businesses would be able to reopen "as soon as they can safely do so" and predicted that they would not need to wait for "long periods of time" after firms resumed operations in the rest of the UK.
The UK government is encouraging some people to return to work, although Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the job retention furlough scheme - which is currently supporting 7.5m workers UK-wide - by another four months.
Ms Sturgeon welcomed this extension, and said there were "ongoing discussions with the Treasury" about how it would apply north of the border.
She said: "We've been very clear that there has to be support in place for as long as we are asking businesses not to operate as normal, and we have to avoid cliff edges.
"If there are instances of us moving at different speeds because the evidence says this is necessary, then the support structures need to reflect that."
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the UK-wide furlough scheme
Addressing whether people should start returning to work, Ms Sturgeon stressed that "the lockdown restrictions remain in place for Scotland".
She said: "I know the UK government published guidance for businesses yesterday - that is not yet operational in Scotland, as we are not yet encouraging more people to go back to work.
"I would ask instead that all employers follow Scottish government guidance, and I am very grateful that the vast majority of employers have been throughout this crisis."
'Safe working'
Ms Sturgeon said that while the nations of the UK may be "moving at slightly different speeds" out of lockdown, she was not "contemplating or predicting" that firms north of the border would be out of action "for long periods of time" while counterparts in England are trading.
She said the Scottish government was "working with employers and trade unions to develop guidance on safe working".
Groups are focusing on 14 different sectors "to consider how quickly and in what manner we can return to work".
The retail, manufacturing and construction sectors have been picked out as priority areas, although there are also teams looking at areas including tourism, energy and food and drink.
Many businesses have been shuttered as a result of the virus lockdown
Ms Sturgeon said companies would eventually get back up and running, but said this must be done in "a careful and considered way" to "give people vital reassurance that this is not putting health at unnecessary risk".
At her daily media briefing, she also announced plans to set aside £31m to extend eligibility for the small business grant scheme, external.
She said this was targeted at charities which occupy small premises - including providers of health and care services - which have been badly hit by the crisis.
The Scottish government is also making an extra £50m available to meet extra costs in the care sector, aimed at helping care homes and care at home services "cope with the immense pressure they are facing".
Meanwhile, latest figures show a further 50 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, taking the total to 1,912 deaths in Scotland by that measure.
Scottish government figures show that 1,618 patients are in hospital with a suspected or confirmed coronavirus case (up 165), with 81 being treated in intensive care (up one).
What are other parties saying?
The Scottish Conservatives welcomed the extension of the furlough scheme and the "simplicity and clarity" of the Chancellor's message.
Leader Jackson Carlaw said: "This crisis is not over, there is still a long road ahead, but Scottish employees and employers have been given an enormous safety net."
Scottish Labour backed Ms Sturgeon's position, with leader Richard Leonard saying that "people should not be expected to go back to work until it is fully safe to do so".
He said: "That means that testing and contact tracing should be in place, alongside adequate personal protective equipment and effective enforcement measures."
The Scottish Greens raised concerns about whether the UK government's contributions to the furlough system could be cut in future, with co-leader Patrick Harvie saying this could "create further uncertainty and anxieties" at a time when "workers need security".
Meanwhile Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said the extension of the scheme was "good news for workers and their jobs", but said the government "now needs to implement a universal basic income to plug the holes in the financial support measures".
- Published6 May 2020
