Furlough extension: what we know now

Alan Price, CEO of BrightHR, outlines what the detailed guidance on the new furlough scheme means, including for women on maternity leave.

Woman and man in an office sit far apart and wear face masks for virus avoidance

 

As the deadline looms for employers to furlough employees from 1st November – to qualify for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme payments from this date, they need to have sent the employee a furlough leave letter by 13th November – Alan Price from BrightHR looks at the official guidance on how the scheme will work.

The Government has now published its official guidance for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended until 31 March 2021. The long-awaited government guidance confirms many of the details surrounding the extended furlough scheme for employers. Overall, it outlines the increase in flexibility that the extended scheme provides when compared to its original incarnation in March, such as permitting flexible furlough from the start. The government have also placed further restrictions on its usage that we haven’t seen before which is likely to keep its ongoing cost down.

A crucial point is the situation regarding making claims for furloughed staff who are serving their notice period. Previously there were no restrictions on this and staff could be made redundant, even if they were currently on furlough. Now, it seems that the Government are going to be a bit stricter in this regard, suggesting that from December they may prohibit claims for those who are serving notice periods. While this has yet to be confirmed, it would be consistent with previous government plans for the furlough scheme’s planned replacement, the Job Support Scheme, before it was indefinitely postponed which said claims were not to be permitted for those serving a notice period.

Maternity leave

There is also a significant change confirmed for staff who wish to return from maternity leave early to be instead placed on the Job Retention Scheme and therefore receive more money. They now need to provide at least eight weeks’ notice of their intention to do this and their employer cannot place them on furlough until these eight weeks are up. This does provide less freedom for staff in this position and employers will need to make sure that all employees seeking to return off maternity leave early are aware of this. Depending on their situation, it may be more advisable for them to remain on the leave as planned.

On a more positive note, the government have clarified that rules on taking annual leave while furloughed are to remain the same; those who do take it must be paid in full for this time. They have also provided further guidance for furloughed staff who fall ill, suggesting that, generally, it will be down to employers if they keep them furloughed or class them as on sick leave and therefore start paying them SSP if they qualify. However, future amendments to the guidance will hopefully clarify this further and employers should approach this situation with caution for now.

Another central point to consider is guidance on whether staff who have transferred over to a business under TUPE can be furloughed. As before, it seems that this will depend on when the transfer took place, critical dates for which being specified in the guidance.

Going forward, it is essential that employers familiarise themselves with this guidance as much as possible and regularly check it for updates. It should be remembered that the furlough scheme has seen numerous amendments since it was originally implemented, a trend that does seem likely to continue over the next few months.



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