The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Employer Perceptions of Part-time Working: the implications for economic recovery and future working

据英国预算责任办公室（Office for Budget Responsibility）预测，新冠肺炎疫情对英国经济造成了严重冲击，失业率达到了上世纪80年代以来的最高水平。在国际上，非全时工作越来越被认为是经济衰退中失业的另一种选择，可以避免支付福利金的成本、税收损失以及失业的一些社会和健康成本，同时保留经济中的技能。尽管员工有需求，尤其是某些特定人群，但雇主通常认为兼职工作成本高、不方便，很难创造高质量的兼职工作。冠状病毒工作保留计划（CJRS）的“灵活休假”规定允许员工兼职工作和兼职休假，对许多雇主来说，这实际上是一项兼职工作的实验。本研究旨在调查雇主在该计划下使用兼职工作的经历，以及这是否改变了他们对该计划可行性的看法。该研究在两个时间点对选定行业的经理进行了半结构化访谈，并进行了大规模的代表性调查，旨在了解雇主的反应，以及他们的看法和做法是否发生了变化。研究结果将对政府有关兼职工作在经济复苏中的作用的政策以及政府需要向雇主提供的鼓励和支持产生影响。该研究将与英国工业联合会（CBI）合作进行，以便从大量英国雇主（约2万）收集数据，并与一个由专业组织和政府成员组成的指导小组合作，促进影响。

Covid-19 has caused a severe shock to the UK economy, with the highest level of unemployment since the 1980s predicted (Office for Budget Responsibility). Part-time working is increasingly, and internationally, recognised as an alternative to unemployment in a recession, avoiding the costs of benefit payments, loss of tax receipts and some social and health costs of unemployment, whilst retaining skills in the economy. Despite demand from employees, particularly certain demographics, employers have often perceived part-time working as costly and inconvenient, struggling to create quality part-time jobs. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme's (CJRS), 'flexible furlough' provision allowing employees to work part-time and be part-time furloughed, has effectively been an experiment in part-time working for many employers.This research is designed to examine employers' experiences of using part-time working under this scheme and whether this has changed their perceptions of its feasibility. Conducting semistructured interviews with managers from selected sectors at two time points, together with a large-scale, representative survey, the research seeks to understand employer responses and whether their perceptions and practices have changed. The findings will have implications for government policy relating to the role of part-time working in the economic recovery and the encouragement and support government needs to provide for employers.The research will be carried out in collaboration with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), to enable data collection from a large number of UK employers (c. 20 000) and facilitate impact, together with a Steering Group with membership from professional organisations and government.