The current number of people unemployed in the U.K. stands at 1.79 million, increasing from 1.72 million in July 2008. The Unemployment rate stands now at 5.75%, the highest level of unemployment since in 1991 amidst the U.K.’s last economic recession during the premiership of John Major. This increase has put extra strain on public funds, with an increase of 3.6% in claimants for jobseekers allowance – the biggest monthly rise since 1992. Redundancies have also been on the increase, with 138,000 people made redundant from April to June 2008, rising an incredible 78% from the three months previous. Redundancies have flowed from a number of sectors, although mainly those most affected by the credit crunch, namely Northern Rock, Ford, UBS, HSBC and investment bank Lehman Brothers. Meanwhile, the housebuilding industry has see gold for cash n job losses of 6,000 per week. This acceleration in the number of people finding themselves out of work, coupled with a drop in the number of vacancies, highlights that the economic downturn has had a direct effect on demand for labour. This weakening of the jobs market looks set to continue, meaning that the number of people unemployed in the U.K. may rise above 2 million by Christmas, with further job losses in 2009 and possibly beyond. At the current trajectory towards full-blown recession the number of people unemployed could reach 3 million – or 9% – by 2010. Those most at risk are lower-skilled workers who have little or no training to fall back on, but with 20% of employers looking to cut their workforce it is imperative to know a little about the laws to protect employees from falling victim of unfair redundancy.
