With the pandemic ongoing and seemingly ever-changing, the UK government’s furlough scheme has also been through multiple adjustments and extensions. This means you could reasonably be asking yourself: What’s the current situation?
Under the latest HMRC guidelines, your employer has the option of putting you on furlough if…
- You are unable to work (even from home or on reduced hours) because you are clinically extremely vulnerable or at high risk of severe illness from coronavirus
- You are caring for children who are at home because their school or childcare facilities are closed due to coronavirus
- You are caring for a vulnerable individual in your household
What’s changed?
The scheme has been extended until 30 April 2021.
The new guidance confirms that parents who stay at home to look after school-age children are eligible for furlough. (This was formerly unclear.)
Furlough
While you are on furlough, your employer cannot ask you to do any work that makes them money, and they can’t ask you to provide services for any organisation that’s associated with them.
You can do these things:
- Take part in training – in fact, this is encouraged! (If you’re an apprentice, you should be paid at least the Apprenticeship Minimum Wage/National Living Wage/National Minimum Wage for the time you spend training)
- Do voluntary work for another employer
- Do paid work for another employer (if your contract allows this)
- Undertake representation activities for your trade union
- Undertake trustee duties for your company pension scheme
How the scheme works
Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, your employer can claim 80% of your usual salary from the government to cover the hours you don’t work, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.
You can be furloughed no matter what type of contract you are on: full-time, part-time, agency, flexible, fixed-term, apprentice or zero-hours. You can also be furloughed if you are a foreign national.
The furlough scheme does not apply if you are self-isolating or on sick leave. In that case, you would qualify for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) as usual.
If you get made redundant while you’re furloughed, your redundancy pay should be calculated based on your usual salary not your furlough income.
Related reading
- I’m at risk of redundancy after being on furlough
- Am I entitled to furlough pay?
- I refused to attend my unsafe workplace
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