Give all key workers a 100% tax and Nat. Ins. holiday through COVID-19 crisis
The government is helping private firms to protect jobs by paying up to 80% of staff wages through this crisis. If it can do this why can it not help key workers who will be putting themselves/their families at risk and working extra hard under extremely challenging and unprecedented circumstances.
This petition closed on 1 Oct 2020 with 146,351 signatures
1. Letter from Rishi Sunak MP to Chair on financial package
21/04/2020 - Inquiry: Letter from Rishi Sunak MP to Chair on financial package - Treasury Committee
- View source
Found: id
-
19 crisis, the government has set out a
n
unprecedented package of
support for families, businesses
2. Getting Britain working Safely again, 2020
03/08/2020 - HM Treasury
- View source
Found: public policy success.
The unprecedented step of paying 80 per cent of the wages for 6.3 million jobs has
3. Economic impact of coronavirus
15/04/2020 - Inquiry: Economic impact of coronavirus - Treasury Committee
- View source
Found:
G
overnment
should
be congratulated for
putting together a
bold
package
that helps
provide
4. Resolution Foundation: the full Monty
03/08/2020 - HM Treasury
- View source
Found: the challenge of the
coronavirus labour market crisis
Nye Comine˜i, Laura Gardiner & Hannah Slaughter
5. Economic impact of coronavirus
16/04/2020 - Inquiry: Economic impact of coronavirus - Treasury Committee
- View source
Found: of the
Covid
-19 pandemic brings with it an unprecedented
impact
onhousehold finances. We have already
1. Finance Bill
27/04/2020 - Commons Chamber
1: parliamentarians across this House, have done to prevent covid-19 from becoming a threat to our democracy itself - Speech Link
2. Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation
08/03/2021 - Commons Chamber
1: British people and British businesses through the crisis, and we did. A year on, thanks to one of the most - Speech Link
3. Coronavirus: Supporting Businesses and Individuals
23/02/2021 - Commons Chamber
1: still struggling as a result of the coronavirus crisis in the forthcoming budget by extending business - Speech Link
2: still struggling as a result of the coronavirus crisis in the forthcoming budget by extending business - Speech Link
4. The Economy
27/04/2020 - Commons Chamber
1: have been made to universal credit, over 4 million jobs have now been furloughed, and survey evidence suggests - Speech Link
5. Employment Rights: Government Plans
25/01/2021 - Commons Chamber
1: inclusion of overtime pay when calculating some holiday pay entitlements, and calls on the Government to - Speech Link
2: inclusion of overtime pay when calculating some holiday pay entitlements, and calls on the Government to - Speech Link
6. Covid-19: Economy
04/06/2020 - Lords Chamber
1: consider (1) the economic lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) the measures necessary to repair - Speech Link
2: the second major economic crisis in 12 years. The global financial crisis of 2008-9 saw UK income fall - Speech Link
7. Oral Answers to Questions
22/04/2020 - Commons Chamber
1: let me thank you for all the work you and the staff of the House have done in making these proceedings - Speech Link
2: It is clear that the four-nation approach to covid-19 is not only the preferred option, but the only - Speech Link
3: I would like to start by paying tribute to all NHS staff and key workers in Wales and across the UK - Speech Link
4: puts his finger on a really important point. The key thing about this period is that, almost irrespective - Speech Link
8. Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit
18/01/2021 - Commons Chamber
1: Credit and Working Tax Credit in April and give certainty today to the six million families for whom it is - Speech Link
2: Credit and Working Tax Credit in April and give certainty today to the six million families for whom it is - Speech Link
3: resulting from the measures taken to deal with covid have hit the poorest in society hardest? Poverty - Speech Link
9. Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation
03/03/2021 - Commons Chamber
1: with the mess we find today: the worst economic crisis of any major economy in the last 12 months; unemployment - Speech Link
10. Covid-19: Economic Package
12/05/2020 - Commons Chamber
1: have provided billions of pounds of cash grants, tax cuts and loans for over 1 million businesses, tens - Speech Link
2: work with the Government to ensure that people’s jobs and incomes are protected and the furlough scheme - Speech Link
You may be interested in these active petitions
1. Prioritise Key Retail Workers, being offered the Covid Vaccine! - 46,838 signatures
2. Make prison staff top priority as key workers to recieve the covid 19 vaccine - 12,892 signatures
3. Change COVID-19 critical workers list to include all veterinary staff - 13,385 signatures
4. A national holiday and day of remembrance for those lost in the COVID pandemic - 8,750 signatures
5. Prioritise early years practitioners to urgently receive Covid 19 vaccine. - 7,803 signatures
The majority of key workers are struggling financially after a decade of austerity and this small gesture will demonstrate how the government and the country as a whole values what they do for us all. The extra money will also go some way to easing the exceptional strain that is being and will continue to be placed on these key workers and their families.
Top 50 Constituencies by Number of Signatures
23,137 signatures - 16.0% of total
Government Response
The Government has announced an unprecedented package of measures to support public services and workers through Coronavirus, targeting support where it’s needed most.
The Coronavirus is the biggest threat the UK has faced in decades. Key workers have already demonstrated remarkable commitment to keeping the public safe in the continuing fight against the virus. The Government hugely values and appreciates these vital contributions to the COVID-19 response, both in the private and public sector.
Key workers deserve to be properly rewarded for the work they do. The Government has agreed specific pay and pension packages for a number of public sector workforces, including in the NHS, both to increase system capacity and recognise their work. More than one million NHS workers continue to benefit from the three-year Agenda for Change pay deal. The reforms will see the starting salary for a newly qualified nurse rise to £24,907 in 2020/21, 12.6% higher than 2017/18.
In addition, the Government is supporting those at work through the package of measures it has announced to protect against the current economic emergency. This includes significant changes to the operation of statutory sick pay, universal credit, and employment and support allowance, so that people have quicker and more generous access to a support system. To support self-employed individuals affected by the coronavirus outbreak, the Government has also announced a new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, alongside the deferral of income tax and VAT payments.
The Government is targeting support where it is most needed. A blanket tax holiday would be untargeted. Those paying higher rates of tax would receive the greatest benefit, while low-earning individuals with income below the personal allowance or the NICs primary threshold would not benefit. Furthermore, HMRC’s systems have not been designed to distinguish between key workers and non-key workers, and so the extension of this tax treatment to key workers would be vulnerable to exploitation and fraud by people who were not key workers and so not entitled to it.
The UK’s economic response to COVID-19 is one of the most generous and comprehensive in the world, and the Government is now working urgently to deliver these schemes as quickly as possible.
The Government is also closely monitoring the impact of measures, having regard to the need to support public services, businesses, and individuals, and will continue to keep all policies under review.
HM Treasury