Furlough and notice.

Furlough and notice.

This update is written and posted on Monday 16^th November 2020. More changes are likely and we will endeavour to provides updates as soon as information becomes available.

Further government guidance has been issued regarding the extended furlough scheme. Of particular note is the change in an employer’s ability to claim furlough pay whilst an employee is serving notice. Up until now the scheme has allowed this (obviously provided the employee is furloughed and not actually working during their notice period).

The new guidance makes it clear that furlough pay cannot be claimed for any period of notice (whether contractual notice or statutory notice) between 1 December 2020 and 31 January 2021.

This means that even if notice is served prior to 1 December 2020, if the notice period extends into the period from 1 December 2020 to 31 January 2021, an employer cannot claim furlough pay during that period and will be required to fund 100% of notice pay themselves.

The furlough scheme is to be reviewed by the end of January 2021 and it would not be surprising if this rule is extended past 31 January, although currently this is speculation.

If you have any specific questions, please e-mail reception@sherborneslaw.co.uk and we will try to cover the point when the answer is available.