Almost a third of coronavirus related enquiries made to a national advice service centre around the job retention scheme

Hundreds of queries and concerns about the coronavirus job retention scheme have been received by Scotland’s national advice service.

The most common issues relate to furloughed employees who are unsure about their rights, concerns from employers who are not able to access the scheme, and enquiries from staff who have not been working with their employer long enough to be eligible for payments.

In the first week of April, 29.5% of queries to advice.scot related to the coronavirus job retention scheme. Another 13% of enquiries related to benefits, including entitlement to claim benefits.

The charity Advice Direct Scotland runs the advice.scot service and has also launched a dedicated coronavirus advice service at coronavirusadvice.scot. This includes a freephone number, 0808 800 9060, web chat, and an online knowledge centre.

The charity also runs Scotland’s national consumer advice service, consumeradvice.scot, which has been handling queries related to travel and cancellations. In total, the services are currently receiving around 1,000 queries every day.

Andrew Bartlett, chief executive of Advice Direct Scotland, said: “Advisers have been inundated with queries relating to the job retention scheme.

“We know how anxious many people are at this difficult time, so we are providing the national advice service while protecting our dedicated staff by using home-working technology.

“As well as queries relating to government schemes, we are also handling an increase in questions about housing, benefits and employability, with many of these issues compounded amid the coronavirus crisis.

“The coronavirusadvice.scot service is a one-stop-shop for everyone in Scotland to receive practical advice and information.”