Fair compensation must follow restriction

As the restrictions regarding coronavirus begin to ease, with more reasons to come out of our homes, it was always to be expected that keeping the level of virus transmission down would be a challenge.

In the absence of mass vaccination there was a realisation that opening up all aspects of society as before would cause a rise in infection which could threaten the NHS and cause further harm - therefore society has to strike a balance. The number one priority has been determined to be the re-opening of schools. Although it may cause upward pressure on transmissions - with children back in a classroom; using public transport to get to school; and all of the associated before-school and after-school activity - it was judged that the risks of the virus were less than those associated with children not returning to school, such as societal harm and disruption of child development.

In order to avoid increasing upward pressure on the rate of transmission, the reopening of large sections of the economy, albeit in altered ways, has been facilitated by keeping some activities still forbidden. In Northern Ireland, the arts and creative industries have been massively affected although the headlines have gone to those pubs and private members’ clubs which do not serve food, or have outdoor space available, and so are still required to close. It is worth noting that in England non-food pubs are permitted to open, and there may be an argument that this should also be the case here, subject to the social distancing and other measures that food-serving pubs are deploying, so as to broaden the range of businesses and spread demand over a greater number of venues.

In the Republic of Ireland, indoor pubs which do not serve food also remain closed. Outlining the prioritisation of certain activities over others, the Tanaiste, Leo Varadkar insisted that pubs must “make a sacrifice for the rest of society”, demonstrating the prioritisation at hand. It is precisely because of this power of governments that we need a mature debate about how we protect lives without destroying livelihoods that have taken lifetimes to build.

Protocol 1, Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights relates to the protection of property. It sets out that “every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of their possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest.” This goes to the heart of the delicate balance between individual rights and societal good. In declaring whether or not the balance has been struck correctly, the availability of fair compensation is one of the key determining factors. While the temporary closures of theatres, arts businesses, soft-play areas, and wet-only pubs is not the same as the government acquisitioning private property, it does have some parallels. If it is judged that private businesses are mandated to close, in order for the public education system to be able to open in a way which protects the public health service, then it logically follows that further support should be provided for those who continue to be prevented from trading, while other sections of the economy are able to open. Support at the beginning of the pandemic at both UK and devolved government level was broad based, recognising that many people and businesses of all sizes and across different sectors were in some way impacted. This has taken the form of government backed loans at favourable rates; grants for businesses and self-employed people; income protection for employees via the furlough scheme; as well as rate bill discounts and holidays for many businesses.

At this stage there is now a need for targeted support, tightly focused on the sectors still mandated to close. This support should be sufficient to allow these businesses to bridge the gap until the scientific advice enables them to open once again. Such compensation is only fair given the sacrifices which these businesses have been expected to make. From today, the cost of keeping staff furloughed will increase to ten percent of an employee’s full wage, in addition to Employer’s National Insurance Contributions and any relevant pension costs. Therefore, the cost of keeping a business closed is continuing to rise, with the chances of business failure and subsequent redundancies increasing accordingly. Targeted investment, rapidly deployed now, can help avoid future costs of business failure, where good businesses may go to the wall, ultimately, for doing the right thing for society. It would be a travesty if the legacy of this crisis is that honest businesses who have abided by the regulations are punished, rather than compensated. They have done the right thing for us, government must do the right thing for them.

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