[UK] Notice periods will no longer be covered by furlough

HM Treasury has confirmed that statutory and contractual notice periods will cease to be covered by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme from December 1. Details of future claims will be published online, Personnel Today reports.

The updated guidance says that employers can still make staff redundant while they are on furlough - and that employers can continue to claim while employees are serving a statutory or contractual notice period - but adds that grants may not be used to substitute redundancy payments.

However, for claim periods starting on or after December 1, employers cannot claim for any days between December 1 and January 31, 2021, during which the furloughed employee was serving a contractual or statutory notice period. This includes people serving notice of retirement or resignation.

Employers will need to make an adjustment if an employee subsequently begins a contractual or statutory notice period on a day covered by a previously submitted claim.

According to HM Revenue and Customs guidance, “If you make an employee redundant, you should base statutory redundancy and statutory notice pay on their normal wage rather than the reduced furlough wage.”

Additionally, the guidance ensures that employers making a CJRS claim accept that HMRC will publish information about their claims online, including the employer’s name and an indication of the amount of money claimed. Businesses able to demonstrate that publication would expose their workforce to a “serious risk of violence or intimidation” can be exempted.

On November 11, the government published its official guidance for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). This has been extended until 31 March 2021. The guidance confirmed that from November 1, 2020, employers may claim 80 per cent of a furloughed employee’s usual salary, to a maximum £2,500 per month.

Any employee is eligible if they were employed and on payroll on October 30, as long as the organisation has made a PAYE RTI submission to HMRC since the scheme began in March. (Link via original reporting)

HM Treasury has confirmed that statutory and contractual notice periods will cease to be covered by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme from December 1. Details of future claims will be published online, Personnel Today reports.

The updated guidance says that employers can still make staff redundant while they are on furlough - and that employers can continue to claim while employees are serving a statutory or contractual notice period - but adds that grants may not be used to substitute redundancy payments.

However, for claim periods starting on or after December 1, employers cannot claim for any days between December 1 and January 31, 2021, during which the furloughed employee was serving a contractual or statutory notice period. This includes people serving notice of retirement or resignation.

Employers will need to make an adjustment if an employee subsequently begins a contractual or statutory notice period on a day covered by a previously submitted claim.

According to HM Revenue and Customs guidance, “If you make an employee redundant, you should base statutory redundancy and statutory notice pay on their normal wage rather than the reduced furlough wage.”

Additionally, the guidance ensures that employers making a CJRS claim accept that HMRC will publish information about their claims online, including the employer’s name and an indication of the amount of money claimed. Businesses able to demonstrate that publication would expose their workforce to a “serious risk of violence or intimidation” can be exempted.

On November 11, the government published its official guidance for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). This has been extended until 31 March 2021. The guidance confirmed that from November 1, 2020, employers may claim 80 per cent of a furloughed employee’s usual salary, to a maximum £2,500 per month.

Any employee is eligible if they were employed and on payroll on October 30, as long as the organisation has made a PAYE RTI submission to HMRC since the scheme began in March. (Link via original reporting)