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Furloughed workers could be £500 worse off this April pay day

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Posted:
27/04/2020
Updated:
12/05/2020

Workers who have been furloughed could receive around £500 less in their April pay packet, but there are easy ways to offset some of the losses.

Millions of workers are expected to be furloughed in a bid to prevent job losses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which pays 80% of staff wages, furloughed workers may face an immediate financial shortfall if an employer doesn’t top-up salaries to 100%.

According to analysis by comparethemarket.com, workers on the average UK salary will receive just over £500 less than their usual monthly pay cheque.

With estimates suggesting more than eight million people could be furloughed under the government scheme, this could mean £4.1bn in lost earnings.

However, the comparison site calculated households could save an average £850 a year (£70 a month), by switching energy, broadband, home and motor providers:

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  • Potential average car insurance savings: £282
  • Potential home insurance savings: £105
  • Average energy savings: £363
  • Average broadband savings: £100

Anna McEntee, product director at comparethemarket.com, said: “Households feeling the pinch during this crisis could find these savings hugely valuable in managing their household finances.

“While this may not cancel out the significant impact the pandemic is having on some households’ income, shopping around for a new provider is a step that we can all take as a way to reduce costs.

“With an average combined saving standing at nearly £850, shopping around for insurance, energy and broadband can go some way to combatting the payday pinch being felt by many UK households.”