Furlough Fact Sheet

If you are a PAYE eligible employee and your employer places you in Furlough, you remain on the company payroll, have your rights protected and the Government pays up to 80% of your salary, capped at £2,500, for up to three months to the end of May. There is no confirmation but this could be extended.

• Your current employer should notify you if you are placed in Furlough
• You must have been on the PAYE payroll on 28th February
• Your employer then manage with HMRC through an online portal
• The scheme is back dated to the 1^st March and is based on your salary in February
• If you were dismissed before the announcement on the 20^th March but after the 28^th February you should contact your previous employer

The picture is becoming clearer but there are a few grey areas and parts we are making assumptions at this stage.

• When discussing with your employer ensure you receive documentation and document yourself everything in writing
• We are assuming that certain PAYE costs like Pension will be included in the amount of up to £2,500
• Your employer can top up your wage to take your salary from between 80-100% but there is no obligation
• If you are paid significantly more than £2,500/month then there is no obligation by your employer to make up the shortfall
• HMRC reimburse your employer and you will be paid from your company as normal

We are currently assuming that companies will have in some way to show that there is no work available and employees would be made redundant but feel these will be fairly relaxed.

• Your rights are protected and this is classed as continuous employment
• You are still eligible for contractual notice and statutory redundancy payment
• You are not able to work for your current employer during this time
• We are unsure if you can supplement your income with a second job
• You can be brought back from Furlough at any time as you are still contractually employed

If you are moving jobs and/or in your notice period:

• Keep in contact with your new employer and/or recruiter regularly
• It would appear you can be furloughed straight away in a new role as there is no qualification period
• Understand the view from your current employer, it appears that there is no obligation for your current employer to support with furlough if an offer is withdrawn

We recommend you seek advice where you can and we are working with our legal partner Chadwick Lawrence to provide updates as soon as we have them http://www.chadwicklawrence.co.uk/corona-virus-covid-19-updates/