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

新冠肺炎对英国经济造成了严重冲击，失业率达到上世纪80年代以来的最高水平（预算责任办公室）。在国际上，兼职工作越来越被认为是经济衰退中失业的替代方案，可以避免支付福利金的成本，税收收入的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。尽管有员工的需求，特别是某些人口统计数据，但雇主往往认为兼职工作成本高且不方便，难以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，实际上是许多雇主兼职工作的实验。这项研究旨在调查雇主在该计划下使用兼职工作的经验，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管理人员进行半结构化访谈，并进行大规模的代表性调查，以了解雇主的反应以及他们的看法和做法是否发生了变化。调查结果将对政府有关兼职工作在经济复苏中的作用以及政府需要为雇主提供的鼓励和支持的政策产生影响。这项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那里收集数据（c. 20 000人），并与一个由专业组织和政府成员组成的指导小组一起促进影响。

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.