Last night the government published the latest set of guidance covering the changed furlough arrangements announced last week. The details are on Gov.Uk
The basics have not changed the government will pay up to £2500 per month as a contribution towards 80% of the furloughed employee’s wages the employer will still have to pay national insurance and pension contributions. This arrangement is backdated to November 1st and will cover December although the scheme will last until March 31st the level of employers contribution will be reviewed in January
You can continue to flexi furlough in periods one week at a time you must claim furlough payments month over month as at present
You can claim for employees not previously furloughed provided they were on the HMRC RTI by October 30th you can claim for employees previously let go and subsequently reemployed. All employees who were not previously on furlough must sign an agreement confirming they have agreed to go on furlough. These re cords must be kept ideally for 6 years. If you don’t have a suitable agreement please contact me. You can only retrospectively furlough someone provided they have agreement in place which was signed before November 13th
There is no limit to the number of employees you can furlough
There are 2 other sentences in the guidance which at first sight will be of concerns to employers but should be clarified by month end
The government is reviewing whether employers should be eligible to claim for employees serving contractual or statutory notice periods and will change the approach for claim periods starting on or after 1 December 2020, with further guidance published in late November.” In other words, if you’re an employer thinking about dismissing someone (whether for redundancy or otherwise), make sure you give them notice before 1 December otherwise you may not be able to use furlough payments to cover part of the notice pay. You cant use furlough payments for redundancy.
“From December 2020, HMRC will publish employer names for companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), the company registration number of those who have made claims under the scheme for the month of December onwards.” I believe this to try counter fraudulent furlough claims
For more help and to make sure you have the correct documentation contact me at www.ukemploymentlawadvice.co.