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JobRention
Letter to furloughed workers - download letter or cut & paste from below

[Employer name if not on headed paper]
[Employer address]

[Date]


Dear [Employee name]
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, we have identified you as a suitable employee [to be furloughed / agreed with you that you will be furloughed]* under the Government Job Retention scheme.
What this means is that you will not be required to work until further notice but will continue to be paid [as normal / and will receive 80% of your normal pay.]*
Income tax and national insurance will be deducted from your pay as normal.
You will continue to be our employee during the furloughed period, however, you must not undertake any work for us during this period.
Your furlough period starts on [insert start date]. It will end on the earlier of:
The date we request you to return to work.
31 May 2020 unless this date is extended by the government. We will notify you if this is the case.
We expect the period not to exceed three months. This may be extended if government restrictions mean that it is not possible for you to return to work.
[As already discussed we agree that you may other undertake paid temporary work/and unpaid voluntary work during your furloughed period]*
We will contact you when you are required to return to work.
[Please sign here………………………………………. to confirm your agreement to being a furloughed employee and return to [name of appropriate person/address or email address] by [date]***.


Yours sincerely

[your name]
Job Retention Scheme - 80% funding for employers

Under the coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers with a PAYE scheme will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis. This applies to employees who have been asked to stop working, but who are being kept on the pay roll, otherwise described as ‘furloughed workers’. HMRC will reimburse 80% of their wages, up to £2,500 per month. This is to safeguard workers from being made redundant. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will cover the cost of wages backdated to March 1st and is initially open for 3 months, but will be extended if necessary.

When can I access it?
HMRC are working urgently to set up a system for reimbursement. HMRC expect the first grants to be paid within weeks, and are aiming to get it done before the end of April. If your business needs short term cash flow support, you may be eligible for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan.

Am I eligible?
All UK-wide employers with a PAYE scheme will be eligible – this includes the public sector, Local Authorities and charities.

How do I access it?
You will need to:

1. Designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your employees of this change – changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation.

2. Once the new online portal is live, submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings (HMRC will set out further details on the information required)

FAQ relating to "furloughed" (a leave of absence) employees

1. Do we have to give employees notice prior to furlough and also when we want them to return to work? 
At the current time all businesses that are considering furlough should review their employees’ contracts of employment before taking any action. Some contracts may have a clause that states you may be able to ‘lay-off’ or place your staff on ‘short-time’ working, if you have this clause in your employees’ terms and conditions, you may implement furloughed working without your employees consent with no notice. If you do not have this clause in your employees’ terms and conditions you will need to consult with your employees and get their agreement before you can implement this.  
If your employees have agreed and have been placed on furlough you should provide them with reasonable notice of a return to work date, in most cases this would not have to be longer than a weeks’ notice.   
If an employer has not provided their employees with a written contract, then they will need to get consent as detailed above. 

2. Can I implement Furlough to my employees no matter what?  
No, you must first review your employees’ contract of employment to understand the terms and conditions that are in place. If you have no clause for furloughed or lay-off, you must obtain employee agreement before you can implement this. 

3. If employees are working from home or on short-time working can they receive the Job Retention Scheme?  
No, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme does not include asking your employees to work from home nor does it include short-time working (to our knowledge as of 24 March 2020). 

4. What is the difference between Short-time Working, Lay-off and Furloughed employees? 
a) Short-time working is where the number of hours or days of work in a week are reduced. 
b) Lay-off is where an employee is asked to not undertake any work and remain at home for one or more days. 
c) Furloughed is not a UK employment law term, and therefore is currently undefined in the UK, however Furloughed is a common American expression for ‘leave of absence’.   
From the information we currently have (24 March 2020) we believe that ‘Furlough’ is a specific term for a particular type of ‘layoff’ used by the Government during these unprecedented times and relates to the Government Job Retention Scheme developed to encourage companies not to make staff redundant. The scheme is designed to protect both employees and employers like ourselves so that we are best placed to continue as normal when the COVID-19 crisis comes to an end.  
In lay off and short-time working employees remain employed by the business and will continue to be subject to all normal terms and conditions of employment, expect full pay if defined in their contract or agreed. We believe that the same will be true for furloughed employees. 

5. Can employees retain access to and utilise email accounts etc. to communicate with clients/customers and the rest of the team during furlough?  
Employees that have been placed on furlough must not conduct any work, therefore they must not contact clients or customers. If your business still has work to be completed but your demand has vastly reduced, you may need to consider retaining certain key employees on full time or where required in line with their contract of employment on short-time working. As of 24 March 2020, we are still awaiting detail from the government on whether employees may be placed in and out of furlough which would allow organisations to operate a rota system on a weekly or two-weekly basis to keep some operations running. 
We would still encourage all businesses to keep in regular contact with their employees to keep them updated on the business and an estimated time they may be required to go back to work. We also encourage regular catch up calls or video calls to see how your employees are doing. This is good for morale and wellbeing and reminds your employees they are still employed and connected. 

6. Do employees continue to accrue holiday, sick pay etc if they have been furloughed? 
We believe so, at the current time the government have not defined what a furlough worker is, however as they will remain an employee and on PAYE they should remain entitled to all terms and conditions of their contract that include holidays, sick pay etc. At the current time (24 March 2020) we are unclear if employees may be able to request and take holidays or sickness during a furloughed period and are awaiting clarity on this matter. 

7. Does Furlough affect any Statutory Maternity rights, and can someone go from being furloughed straight onto maternity leave and vice versa? 
Pregnant women are on the government’s vulnerable list, therefore if possible, they should be asked to work from home and given strict advice on protecting themselves if they are required to attend work. If they are currently working (either at home or at work) and you wish to place them on furlough, you may do so. If they are due to take Maternity Leave during the period of furlough they must be transferred to Maternity Leave and Pay (within your current terms). If your terms and conditions pay above statutory maternity arrangements, you must continue to pay them at the enhanced rate.  
Should an employee be due to return from maternity leave shortly, you can consult with them and place them on furlough if required as detailed in Question 1.  
Pregnant women must not be discriminated against and any employers must ensure they are being treated fairly.  
 

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