Citizens Advice is warning its data shows that people are becoming increasingly concerned about redundancy as the nation moves into a new phase where government support packages are scaled back.
For 66 days straight, the charity’s page on being furloughed was the number one viewed on its website. But over the last month it’s become clear that people are increasingly worried about redundancy.
The charity’s main redundancy webpage overtook furlough to be the most viewed page on 5 June and while it’s now the number two viewed page, three other redundancy advice pages now also sit in its top 10 most viewed web pages.
Searches on the charity’s website also show this evolution of people’s concerns. In the first month, (11 March - 10 April) the top search term was coronavirus, in the second month, furlough, and last month, redundancy.
Citizens Advice has also found that people are no longer concentrating on the same handful of issues as they adapt to changing coronavirus challenges.
Since Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic three months ago, the advice pages on the charity’s website have been viewed more than 15.8 million times, a 24% increase on the same period last year.
In the first month the charity saw a lot of changes in what people were looking for advice on - from flight and accommodation cancellations to sick pay and what to do if you can’t pay your bills.
By mid April, when the lockdown was well underway and government interventions in place, Citizens Advice saw the top five issues become very clear. Furlough, self employment, benefits, not being able to pay bills, and Universal Credit were consistently the most viewed pages.
But over the last month, as things are moving towards a new phase, the data shows the pattern reverting to being more volatile.
In the last four weeks, as well as redundancy page views being on the rise, pages on ending your tenancy have crept into the top six most viewed. While numbers are lower, the page on divorce has been in the top five most viewed pages on Sunday’s since mid-May.
As lockdown measures continue to be relaxed, and government interventions start to wind down, Citizens Advice expects to see continual changes as problems re-emerge. The charity anticipates it will see issues similar to the start of the pandemic like people struggling to pay bills and seeking advice on sick pay and benefits.
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