Skip to content

Covid-19: Call for Stormont to help employers with furlough cost

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Northern Ireland has called on Stormont to use money it has not allocated yet for a new scheme to help protect the jobs of people on furlough.

Almost 95,000 people in Northern Ireland are on furlough, according to official figures.

The government's Job Retention Scheme pays 80% of workers' wages and is due to run until April.

But employers still have to pay 20% of employees' costs as well as things like national insurance.

The Stormont economy department says it is considering the proposal from the FSB.

Read more here: Appeal for help to protect furloughed workers’ jobs

10 February 2021

Small businesses

Northern Ireland Executive

Explore More

Twins James and John Makanjuola,

The twins cleaning London's unloved spaces

Kelvin Adabla and mum Rebecca smile in their kitchen on Holloway Road in north London.

Carnival chefs: 'We don't sleep for 48 hours'

Mike from Flake Bake and a tray of Jamaican patties

Family-run London bakery wins supermarket deal

Johnny Finch

'Cookstown congestion is a major problem'

Northern Ireland

Potato

Wet weather dashes hopes for spring potato harvest

Northern Ireland

Titanic Denim

'We have a real problem with overconsumption'

Northern Ireland

Doug Beattie

'It's embarrassing that we don't have a government'

Northern Ireland

Stuart Hann, The Blind Chocolatier

Blind chocolatier realises his sweet dream

Robert Bell

'We'll keep navigating the storm like before'

Northern Ireland

Meeple Perk board game cafe owners playing a game

Rising costs put board game café in checkmate

Pupils at Abbey Community College

'Politicians - just ask young people'

Northern Ireland

BBC News NI's Declan Harvey explains how the £600 energy payment will work.

Northern Ireland's £600 energy payment explained

Northern Ireland

Mark Gibson

'Be wary about energy payment scams'

Northern Ireland

Some people are choosing to hire their Christmas tree to try to reduce waste and help the environment.

‘Our rental Christmas tree is part of the family’

Students at Young Enterprise event at St George's Market Belfast

Wheeling and dealing pupils show market spirit

Northern Ireland

Scanning face for 3D printing

'One of the hottest start-up spaces in the US'

Nashville entrepreneur

What makes Nashville a magnet for entrepreneurs?

Keyframe #1

'A desire exists for protocol resolution'

Northern Ireland

Raymond Gormley

'It really is an eye-watering price increase'

Northern Ireland

A BBC presenter with a schoolboy, discussing the cost of a school uniform

How much did a school uniform cost in NI in 1970s?

Northern Ireland

Emma, with long brown hair and wearing a purple hoody, looks to the side of the camera

How schools can help bereaved pupils with grief

Emma, who lost her brother, says it can be "overwhelming" to deal with grief alongside school work.

Northern Ireland

Tom Hadden sits on a grey sofa. He is wearing a stripey top.

'Rural road crash changed my life'

Tom Hadden was driving a bin lorry down a country road when another truck collided with his vehicle.

Northern Ireland

A woman with straight blonde hair looks to the side of the camera. She is wearing a blue t-shirt and necklace.

Parents of SEN young people call for support

Currently pupils with special educational needs do not receive automatic support to continue in education when they leave school.

Northern Ireland

Memorial stone in Ballyatrick forest to Inga Maria Hauser. Bouquets of flowers have been placed around the stone

Murdered backpacker's family hopeful over inquest

Eighteen-year-old Inga Maria Hauser's body was found in Ballypatrick forest in County Antrim in 1988.

Northern Ireland

A hole in a dark gravel road up close with a road continuing in the background surrounded by fields

'The edges have eroded away'

Potholes and deteriorating rural roads are affecting journeys, said a transport provider.

Northern Ireland

Sebastian is being kissed on the cheek by his mother Amanda. He has short blonde hair and is wearing a blue jacket. Amanda is wearing a black and white headscarf and gold feathered earrings.

'He has nowhere to go and he's still there'

Sebastian's mother said he had limited access to the outside world after spending 10 months in hospital.

Northern Ireland

Noleen Mullan, the mother of Katie Simpson, speaking at a press conference. She is wearing an olive coat over a white top.

Katie Simpson family 'feeling empty' after report

Katie Simpson's mother says those responsible for police failings "are nowhere to be seen".

Northern Ireland

Debbie McCrudden

'I'm glad I didn't let the fear stop me'

Debbie McCrudden was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2014 and was worried about having children.

Northern Ireland

A man with black glasses and a yellow jumper looks at the camera. He has black hair

'We caught my cancer early - that was key'

Two men are raising awareness of the signs of testicular and prostate cancer.

Northern Ireland

A man with a black beard and black hair stands in front of University of Ulster building wearing a black hoody

Belfast reacts to Trump's US election victory

BBC NI asks people in Belfast how they feel about Donald Trump's victory in the US election.

Northern Ireland

Sandra Larmour

‘Drugs was never really a topic of conversation’

Sandra Larmour's daughter Jeni died hours after arriving at Newcastle University to begin her degree.

Northern Ireland

Gillian Kearney speaking at a police press conference. There is a green PSNI banner behind her and four microphones in front. She is in uniform and has blonde hair, which is tied back.

Increased police presence in Derry after attacks

Speaking at a press conference, Ch Supt Kearney says the extra policing will continue over the coming days.

Northern Ireland

Indiana Land sign, with snakes and birds

A trip down memory lane with BBC archives

More than 9,000 new video clips from the 1990s have been added to the BBC Northern Ireland Rewind website.

Northern Ireland

Cahir O'Hagan in football top in stadium

'Medication wasn't able to save my brother'

Cahir O'Hagan was 25 when he died from cystic fibrosis while waiting for a lung transplant.

Northern Ireland

Lara Storey sitting in front of a window

'I never had anyone sit down and take me seriously'

Former Tesco employee Lara Storey wants other women to know they don’t have to accept unwanted behaviour.

Northern Ireland

Melissa Hamilton - a woman with long, blonde hair which is tied back in a ponytail is smiling as she looks slightly off camera.

'To perform ballet back home is a dream come true'

Melissa Hamilton is performing three ballet shows in Belfast's Grand Opera House this weekend.

Northern Ireland

Kwame Daniels in front of the Telegraph building in Belfast. He is wearing thick-rimmed glasses, a green jacket, a red shirt and a ruck sack.

'I'm home': Anti-slavery show explores Belfast diversity

A unique live show commemorating Belfast's opposition to the slave trade has opened in the city centre.

Northern Ireland

Deirdre Shakespeare wearing a white blouse and gold necklace. She has wavy blonde hair and is outside. There are trees and fields behind her.

Mother 'vindicated' by report into autistic son's treatment

Deirdre Shakespeare's son, Harry, was restrained in a chair at his special school without her knowledge.

Northern Ireland

Christine McCleery - she has long blonde hair and a black top on.

'I want to prevent this happening again' - Mum of stillborn baby

Services for pregnant women need to be overhauled in Northern Ireland, a review finds.

Northern Ireland

Woody the dog - he wears a harness and is a red labrador. He has beautiful brown eyes

'One ferret killed 27 puffins' - the dog keeping seabirds safe

Ferrets and rats pose a grave risk to puffins and other seabirds who breed on Rathlin Island every year.

Northern Ireland