Watch this helpful video on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Leanne is a Solicitor from our Business team. If you have any questions or queries, feel free to email her at leanne.yendell@cartridgeslaw.co.uk
Leanne’s top tips:
- Check for authority for any variation to the contract – if there is no provision within the employment contract, seek consent as unilateral variations to the contract may give rise to future litigation.
- Make sure you have a Furlough Agreement and ideally circulate a draft copy of this agreement during consultation with your employees. VERY IMPORTANT!
- Do not select your furloughed personnel based on protected characteristics – these include age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity.
- Make sure you furlough staff for three weeks at a time to ensure eligibility – you can rotate the workforce as long as each staff member remains on furloughed for at least three weeks.
- Review any redundancies made as a result of Covid-19. You are allowed to reengage those individuals and this will not impact their eligibility for the Scheme.
- Avoid making payments to staff conditional on payment of the grant by the government. You may risk eligibility for the scheme in doing so.
- Furloughed salaried directors must still perform their ‘office holder’ tasks such as filing accounts with Companies House. They must however cease revenue generating / commercial tasks.
- Consider whether any training may benefit the furloughed workforce as this can be undertaken during the furlough period (as long as they do not have to ‘work’ or generate revenue as part of the training).