Extension of the Furlough Scheme

Extension of the Furlough Scheme until 30th June and some clarification on holidays

Unsurprisingly on the 17th April, the Chancellor confirmed an extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme by one month to reflect continuing social distancing measures.

The furlough scheme will now run until the 30th June 2020, providing government grants to support wage costs of 80% of wages up to a maximum of £2,500.

The extension comes after mounting pressure from the Confederation of British Industry on behalf of large businesses who would have had to start collective redundancy consultations on the 17th April in order to meet the 45 day minimum consultation requirement for terminations in excess of 100 employees at the original planned end of the furlough scheme on the 31st May.

The timescales just haven’t provided enough planning and preparation time for big businesses, especially navigating the practicalities of how consultation can take place with representatives during lock down or with employees who are furloughed.

At least now there is slightly more breathing space..

More information can be found at:

Chancellor extends furlough scheme to end of June

In addition, the Government has provided some clarity on the big questions around holidays during furlough.

The Employee only guidance has been updated to confirm:

• Annual leave will continue to accrue
• Employees can take holiday and bank holidays whilst on furlough (paid at the full contractual rate) and although the advice is silent on whether or not this will affect the furlough period, we view this latest advice as advising not
• That employers will be obliged to pay the additional amounts over the grant, which supports that the grant can be claimed for a period of holiday entitlement

The Government have however caveated their guidance by stating that this is an “unprecedented time, (and are) keeping the policy on holiday pay during furlough under review”.

So, things may change.

Further information can be found at:

Check if your employer can use the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme