Can I rotate employees on Furlough leave?
Yes. Employees can be put on furlough more than once so employers can, for example, place employee A on furlough, while Employee B continues to work. Then employee B can be put on furlough while employee A comes back to work. Employee A can then be furloughed again… The same arrangement can take place for groups of employees e.g. Employee sets A can be furloughed while employee set B continue to work and so on…
The current Government position is that the Job Retention Scheme (and therefore any furlough activity) will come to an end at the end of June 2020.
Can annual leave be taken at the same time as Furlough?
Yes, as was confirmed in guidance on 17 April 2020. However, employees must be paid their normal pay when on annual leave during furlough. The Scheme will only cover 80% of wages meaning employers are obliged to top up the rest to normal pay.
Pay and Furlough – what elements of pay are covered?
Government guidance is that commission, bonuses and discretionary payments are not included when calculating pay. All elements employers are already obliged to pay employees including; wages, past overtime, fees and compulsory commission payments can be included. Payments made to furloughed employees will be subject to PAYE and National Insurance contributions.
Are employers required to meet minimum wage with the 80% pay for Furlough?
Minimum wage applies to hours worked. Therefore, if employees are furloughed and do not work and 80 per cent of their normal earnings would take them below the National Minimum Wage, that is acceptable.
For more information or to book an HR consultation please contact Karen Scott on 07762 629 448 or get in touch by clicking here.
