Furlough guidance and legislation was issued at the end of last week, here are our takeaways from it:
1. Annual PAYE scheme directors
- Seems they will qualify if they have an RTI dated between 20/3/20 & 30/10/20
- Neither the guidance nor legislation mentions anything about the RTI also having to be in this tax year
2. Maximum number of employees on a claim
- No maximum number of employees on a furlough claim from 1st November
3. Claim period minimum 7 days
- No minimum furlough period but a claim form is for minimum of 7 days
4. Holiday pay
- “Employees should not be placed on furlough for a period simply because they are on holiday for that period.” So furlough must extend pre and/or post holiday days and the employer needs to top up holiday pay to usual amounts
5. Notice periods
- Companies won’t be able to use furlough to contribute towards pay for notice periods from 1st December
6. Publishing companies names
- Companies claiming furlough will be published from 1st December
- There can be exceptions if publication would risk violence or intimidation, check guidance for examples and action you need to take if this could be an issue