Furlough warning: Job Retention Scheme is putting staff in debt - average amount hits £9k

The extension would have been relieving to many workers worried about their earnings but for others, it could be adding additional stress to debt burdens.

According to new research from money.co.uk (in utilising data from their Coronavirus Debt Index) it was revealed over half (51 percent) of UK adults fot into debt in 2020, and half of that was new debt directly caused by the pandemic.

The average amount of debt in the UK now stands at £9,246 per person and it was detailed more than one in 10 people said their new debt was caused by reduced income due to being put on furlough.

In total, almost £10billion of personal debt has been directly caused by workers struggling to cope on furlough, with the average debt accrued by people due to a loss of salary as a result of the scheme standing at £1,050.

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