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Coronavirus Employees' Help
Full info on sick pay, WFH tax relief, and the now-closed furlough scheme
After a year and a half the furlough scheme – where employees could receive up to 80% of their wage subsidised by state funds if they couldn't work because of the pandemic or lockdown – has now closed. For your reference, we've kept information in this guide about how furlough worked whilst it was running. The guide also sets out what help is STILL available for employees, such as statutory sick pay and working-from-home tax support.
We're no longer updating this guide as the furlough scheme has now ENDED
The furlough scheme came to a close on 30 September. All of the information throughout this guide about how the scheme worked whilst it was running – between March 2020 and September 2021 – has been kept in place for reference.
For other support for employees affected by coronavirus, including your rights if you are ill with coronavirus or need to take time off to look after relatives who catch it, see our Sick Pay guide.
Need more help? We've got other useful guides...
- Redundancy rights – you've certain rights if your job is at risk.
- Benefits checker – see what you might be entitled to.
- Working from home tax relief - check if you can claim.
- Coronavirus travel rights for the latest on rules and refunds.
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Now CLOSED. Furlough ended on 30 Sept – how the scheme worked
Update Fri 1 Oct 2021. Please note that the furlough scheme HAS NOW ENDED. All of the information below on how the furlough scheme worked whilst it was still up and running, including the frequently asked questions at the bottom of this section, has however been kept in place for your reference. The tenses used haven't been changed, which is why the section reads as if the scheme is ongoing.
- The furlough scheme will run until 30 September 2021. The scheme's duration had been extended a number of times, but furlough will finally come to a close at the end of this month.
- Employees on furlough continue to get 80% of their salary for hours not worked, up to £2,500/month. This will remain the case until the scheme ends.
- Until July an employee's furloughed wage was covered entirely by the state. Employers only needed to cover any pension and National Insurance costs.
- Since August employers have needed to contribute more to the scheme. Since 1 August, the state will only cover 60% of an employee's wage for hours not worked, capped at £1,875/month, with employers required to top this up to 80%, capped at £2,500/month. Employers also continue to cover any pension and National Insurance costs.
- Employers across the UK can use the scheme – even if they haven't before. So those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland should also be able to apply. It's open to small, medium and large employers, and those which are charitable or not-for-profit – and crucially your employer doesn't previously need to have used the furlough scheme.
- You DON'T need to have been furloughed before to take part. However, depending on what period you're claiming for you need to have been on your employer's payroll at a certain date to take part:
- For any furlough claims up until 30 April you need to have been on your employer's PAYE payroll on or before 30 October 2020 to be eligible. To be precise, your employer must have made a Real Time Information payroll submission on your behalf on or before 30 October 2020.
- For any furlough claims from 1 May until the end of September you need to have been on your employer's PAYE payroll on 2 March 2021 to be eligible. To be precise, your employer must have made a Real Time Information payroll submission on your behalf on or before 2 March 2021.
- You WILL be able to work part-time while on furlough. Your employer can either put you on furlough full-time, or you'll be able to work part-time and be furloughed for the hours you don't work. Your employer will have to cover your wages at the normal rate for any hours you do work. For more information, see below.
- You can't work for your employer during the hours you're furloughed. This includes your normal work obligations and anything beyond your usual remit. However, you can work for another employer while furloughed (if your contract allows this) or volunteer elsewhere.
- Employees on all types of contract can take part. This includes those on zero-hours contracts and fixed-term contracts, as well as agency workers (including those employed by umbrella companies) and supply teachers. This was confirmed by the Treasury in guidance it published on 10 November 2020.
- Those who are 'clinically extremely vulnerable' to coronavirus can continue to be furloughed. As of April, people who have been classified as 'clinically extremely vulnerable' are no longer being advised to shield, and to not travel into the workplace. However, your employer can still furlough you if you remain unwilling to travel into the workplace but you're unable to work from home, even though the official shielding advice now ended. This is at the employer's discretion though.
Rehired and furloughed in March or April? Your eligibility for furlough might've changed since May
For furlough claims relating to the period 1 May and onwards, employees need to have been on their employer's payroll on 2 March 2021 to be eligible.
This presents an issue if you were rehired by your old employer in March or April 2021. That's because while you might've been successfully furloughed at the time of your rehiring (for any furlough claims up until 30 April, employees had to have been on their employer's payroll on or before 30 October 2020), you might find that you're suddenly ineligible for furlough from 1 May – as for any claims relating to the period 1 May and onwards employees need to have been on their employer's payroll on 2 March 2021.
Currently furloughed? You can work part-time
Your employer can have you work for it on a part-time basis, while furloughing you for the remaining hours or weeks. Your employer will have to pay your wage for any hours that you are in work.
Here's how being on furlough for some hours but working your other hours happens in practice...
- There's no limit on the number of hours you can work. For example, if you work a 40-hour week and your employer wants to, it can get you to work 39 hours and then furlough you for the remaining hour. The amount of time you work each week can also vary over the month, with employers varying it week by week.
- When you are working, you should be paid your normal wage for those hours. For the hours you're not working, you'll be covered by furlough pay, so you'll get at least 80% of your normal wage. Let's run through an example of how work and furlough pay could interact:
Let's assume you work a 40-hour week, and you earn £1,000 a month for that. On furlough, you don't work and you get £800 a month.
Yet if you went back to work for 10 hours a week, that's a quarter of your normal working time, so you'd earn £250 a month for the work you do. Yet you're still furloughed for 30 hours a week, so you get three quarters of your monthly furlough pay – that's £600.
Adding it up, you'd get a total of £850 a month working those 10 hours, compared with £800 on full furlough.
Can I work one hour on and one hour off?
Of course, for some customer-facing workers who are paid per client, such as hairdressers, the workplace restrictions imposed because of coronavirus might mean reduced customer footfall when you actually restart work.
This will likely make the transition back to work financially challenging for many of these workers, as for the hours you're physically at work you won't be able to claim furlough pay – you can't, for instance, claim furlough pay for three hours of work that you've 'lost' through being at work but having to make the workplace Covid-safe, rather than seeing clients.
You can still get statutory sick pay from day one
If you need to take time off work due to becoming unwell from coronavirus, you'll be entitled to your usual sick leave and sick pay. For those whose employers don't offer sick pay, you might be eligible for statutory sick pay (SSP) instead. You MAY ALSO be entitled to SSP if you need to self-isolate and are unable to work from home. This includes if you've been instructed to isolated under the coronavirus contact tracing schemes – for example, after having been 'pinged' by the NHS Covid-19 app.
- How much is statutory sick pay? Statutory sick pay (SSP) currently stands at £95.85 a week. NOTE: Your employer may also offer sick pay which is worth more than the statutory amount if this is outlined in your contract.
- How do I qualify and when can I claim? To qualify, you must be employed and earn an average of at least £120 a week to be entitled to it (see full eligibility criteria). If you earn under £120/week and you already claim universal credit, log in to your online journal, update your details and your universal credit award should be boosted in line with your drop in earnings. If you're not already claiming, apply for universal credit and if you need cash urgently, request an 'advance' payment. Remember, you'll only be eligible for SPP if you're unable to work.
- SSP is payable from DAY ONE where you're ill with coronavirus and unable to work. If you are off sick for any other reason (ie, not coronavirus-related), standard rules apply and SSP will kick in from day four of being ill, not day one.
- SSP is also payable from DAY ONE if you're self-isolating and unable to work – but this must be for an official coronavirus-related reason. This includes if you have coronavirus but feel fine, or you or someone in your household has coronavirus symptoms. It also includes being told to self-isolate by a doctor, NHS 111 or via the contact tracing schemes – for example, being 'pinged' by the NHS Covid-19 app in England.
- How do I claim? SSP is paid through your employer, so you must notify them. You can claim from day one of coronavirus illness or self-isolation – though if your work normally offers more generous sick pay, you may be able to get that. If you then proceed to develop Covid-19 symptoms, or if you're unwell with another illness, you can continue to get SSP for 28 weeks.
Employers should also be flexible about requiring evidence for sick leave from employees, for example, if you're unable to provide a doctor's note due to being in self-isolation. If you're not unwell or in quarantine, but your employer asks you not to come to work, you should receive your full pay. For full help on your employment rights during the coronavirus outbreak, see the ACAS website.
Self-isolating ahead of surgery? You could also qualify for SSP. If you're told to self-isolate by a healthcare professional ahead of surgery, then you might also be eligible for SSP. It's payable from day one, but you'll need to self-isolate for at least four days prior to surgery to qualify (or three days, with surgery taking place on the fourth). The other SSP eligibility rules will also apply (ie, employed and earning at least £120/week).
Are you 'clinically vulnerable'? You can't claim sick pay if you need to shield
The Government's no longer advises people deemed 'clinically extremely vulnerable' to coronavirus to shield and not travel into the workplace. The effect of this is that you can't use the need to shield as a reason to claim statutory sick pay - even if you still don't want to travel into the workplace but you're unable to work from home.
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Looking after children and your rights at work
With schools open for the autumn term, many frazzled parents are breathing a sigh of relief. However, for those still juggling or having to deal with temporary sporadic closures due to coronavirus, here's what your rights are:
- By law, employees have the right to take time off work to help someone who depends on them in an unexpected event. However, you DON'T have a legal right to be paid for this time, though some employers may offer paid time off in this situation depending on your contract or your workplace's policy.
- There's no official limit on how much time you're allowed to take off. It just must be "reasonable" for the situation.
- Look at other options, including taking annual leave or unpaid parental leave. If you do need to spend a longer period away from work, you may also be able to book the time off as holiday, or take unpaid parental leave. Parental leave is available for employed parents who have been with their company for more than a year, and is usually limited to four weeks' leave per year, per child – though it could be extended at your employer's discretion. It's important to note that it's unpaid though.
- See if flexible working can help. You also have the legal right to ask to work flexibly as long as you've worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks, and it must consider your request and deal with it "in a reasonable manner". This could include asking to change or reduce your hours so you can look after your children.
Other employee rights during the pandemic
While it's not part of the now-closed furlough scheme, there are a few other things you need to know about your rights as an employee that are relevant, including annual leave and a tax break that's available if you need to work from home...
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