News

Government launches £2 billion ‘Kickstart Scheme’ to create new jobs for young people

It will provide a range of fully subsidised six-month placements to those aged 16-24 who are at risk of long-term unemployment.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 2nd September 2020
Pixabay

The government has today announced the launch of a new £2 billion pound Kickstart Scheme aimed at creating “hundreds of thousands of new jobs for young people” across the UK.

The Kickstart Scheme is part of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s #PlanForJobs.

Under the new scheme, a number of fully subsidised six-month placements will be open to those aged 16-24 who are currently claiming Universal Credit and are thus at risk of long-term unemployment.

These placements will be available across a range of different sectors in England, Scotland and Wales, and the first placements are likely to be available from November.

According to a statement released today on the gov.uk website, employers will be able to receive funding for 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25-hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum auto-enrolment pension contributions. There will also be extra funding available to support young people in building up their experience and helping them move into sustained employment after they have completed their Kickstart-funded job.

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Whilst the Kickstart Scheme is not to be misinterpreted as an apprenticeship, participants may move on to an apprenticeship at any time during, or after their job placement.

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How does the Kickstart Scheme work?

Employers in can use the Kickstart Scheme to create new six-month job placements for young people age 16-24, and they should support the participants to develop the skills and experience that they need to find work after completing the scheme.

Funding is available for 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25-hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions, and can be accessed following a successful application process.

There is also £1,500 per job placement available for setup costs, support and training.

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Applications must be for a minimum of 30 job placements, and if an employer is unable to offer this many job placements, they then have the opportunity to partner with other organisations to reach the minimum number.

Those applying on behalf of a group of employers can also get an additional £300 of funding to support with the associated administrative costs of bringing together these employers.

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Who can apply for funding?

According to the gov.uk criteria, any organisation can apply for funding, but the job placements created with Kickstart Scheme funding must be new jobs and They must not replace existing or planned vacancies, or cause existing employees or contractors to lose or reduce their employment.

The roles that employers apply for Kickstart Scheme funding for must be:

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  • A minimum of 25 hours per week for six months.
  • Paid at least the National Minimum Wage for their age group.
  • Should not require people to undertake extensive training before they begin the job placement.

Each application should include how employers will help the participants to develop their skills and experience, including support to look for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals, support with CV and interview preparations, and supporting the participant with basic skills, such as attendance, timekeeping and teamwork.

Once a job placement is created, it can be taken up by a second person once the first successful applicant has completed their six-month term.

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How to apply?

Applications for the Kickstart Scheme are being accepted now from employers, or groups of employers.

If your organisation is creating more than 30 job placements as part of the Kickstart Scheme, you can submit your application directly here, but if your organisation is creating fewer than 30 job placements, you cannot apply directly and you must partner with other organisations in order to create a minimum of 30 job placements before applying.

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You can find out more about becoming or finding a representative for a group of employers here.

More information about the Kickstart Scheme is available via the gov.uk website here.

News

What punishment could Manchester City face for FFP breaches?

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester City punishment options

With the news of their numerous breaches of Financial Fair Play, the question on everyone’s mind now is what punishment could Manchester City face if found guilty?

The reigning champions were charged with more than 100 breaches of FFP regulations on Monday following the conclusion of a four-year investigation by the English top flight.

Despite the club denying the allegations as they did with the previous UEFA sanctions, eventually having their two-year ban overturned and the fine reduced by two-thirds, they cannot appeal the decision through the same means as last time and it looks increasingly likely that at least some charges will stick.

That being said, there a numerous steps that the Premier League, FA and other governing football bodies could take next if they are found guilty of even a portion of the offences.

Here are some possible options being suggested at present:

What action could be taken against Manchester City?

1. Fines

The first and most obvious ramification for their alleged financial infractions is a simple fine: typically the most common outcome whenever clubs find themselves in hot water when it comes to rule breaches.

When they were alleged to have gone beyond UEFA’s FFP regulations back in February 2020, they were initially slapped with a £30 million fine before it was eventually reduced to £10m not long after.

However, given the length and severity of this latest raft of accusations — at least a century of offences for nearly a decade — any penalt(ies) would likely result in a much more considerable total sum or even compensation paid to other clubs.

2. Points deduction

One of the most popular suggestions thus far is that City should suffer a points deduction in the current 2022/23 season, not unlike the action recently taken against Juventus for also failing to declare the full truth about the nature of their finances.

The Italian giants were docked 15 points for “false accounting” and could even face a further 20-point bombshell for “undeclared wage payments” to players and other members of staff thought to date back to at least March 2020.

City are accused of similar during Roberto Mancini’s tenure, the man who helped them lift their first Premier League title, as well as with members of their squad in at least two seasons, including as recently as the 2015/16 campaign.

Once again, the supposed offences committed at the Etihad are said to date from 2009 to at least 2018, when the club “stopped cooperating” with the inquiry. If the independent commission find evidence to punish for this period and perhaps beyond, it’s hard to say if points alone would be sufficient enough.

3. Stripped of titles

Alternatively, another possibility is that the now six-time Premier League winners could be stripped of every single one of their titles since their 2008 takeover, meaning the narrative of the last few years would look very different indeed:

While obviously a more severe choice, it is perfectly plausible — especially when considering Juventus once again, who were also hit with this punishment back in 2006 after the ‘Calciopoli’ scandal which saw them stripped of their previous two titles due to match-fixing, pressuring officials and more.

Given that the charges lobbied against City are strictly related to the Premier League, it would be unlikely that any of their other trophies won over the nine-year period in question would be rescinded, but you never know; the inquiry could spark further investigation.

4. Relegation/expulsion from the Premier League

While many have mooted that they feel the Blues should be issued with a ban from the competition — the length of which could be significant given the prolonged offending period and for football fans to make peace with potentially 9-14 years of financial wrongdoings.

However, circling back to the Juventus example once more, the ‘Old Lady’ was also relegated to Serie B (the Italian second division) for the first time in their history after Calciopoli. If that was the judgement for two years of breaches, what sort of punishment would fit City after nearly a decade, maybe more?

Keeping that in mind, it has also been suggested that the club could be expelled from the league. Though a permanent expulsion would be extremely improbable, with this course of action by far the most brutal, the problem again is deciding how long to expel/suspend them and whether to do so immediately or for the following season(s). Again, this is the most unlikely outcome of them all.

Read more:

While this list is obviously not exhaustive, Sky Sports shared a graphic on social media the various steps the commission could seek as Manchester City’s punishment.

Moreover, as alluded to earlier, City cannot appeal CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) like they did last time according the current Premier League regulations. This means that, in theory, whatever the commission finds and the league ultimately says goes.

You can see the full list of charges levelled against Manchester City HERE.

What punishment do you think would be suitable for Manchester City’s litany of FFP breaches?

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Manchester City

News

This Manchester restaurant is selling fondue burgers drenched in Guinness gravy

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

A restaurant in Manchester has brought back its popular Guinness gravy-drenched fondue burgers, and we’re absolutely chuffed about it.

Initially created to mark the feast of St Patrick’s last year, Honest Burgers has put its special Guinness-soaked burgers back on the menu for the whole of February.

Comprised of Honest’s classic hand-shaped beef patty, candied bacon, molten fondue, a Guinness beef and bacon gravy, crispy onions, rocket and pickles, it’s made in collaboration with the Irish dry stout makers themselves and is quite the naughty delight.

To create the special Guinness gravy they are using 52 pints of the black stuff in every batch – so you know it’s got some heft.

Image: Honest Burgers
Image: Honest Burgers

Available at the burger restaurant all month for £14, the Guinness gravy fondue burger is served with Honest’s signature rosemary and sea salt fries and, for this month only, you can also enjoy a pint of draught Guinness on the side to wash it down with.

Read more: District to close as new Deep South-inspired dive bar eyes its Northern Quarter home

Priced at £14 in the restaurant or £15 for at-home delivery, the limited edition burger is available at all Honest Burger restaurants from 1 to 28 February.

Adam Layton, Honest Burgers Head of Food, said: “Our Guinness Fondue burger is a fan favourite and packed with pints and pints of the ‘black stuff’.

Read more: Gary Usher’s new pub inundated with over 500 bookings in two days, despite £19.50 burger controversy

“We make beer fondue cheese with cheddar and mozzarella for the essential cheese pull shot and keep plenty of Guinness aside for our homemade stout & bacon gravy, which is of course applied liberally.”

Feature image – Honest Burgers

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