Furlough - Introduced into the English Language in the 1600s. Now one of the most commonly referred to words in the UK.
Furlough, what does it mean and how is the word pronounced? Does it rhyme with Rough or Dough? This tells you just how uncommon the word is, or was until March 2020.
Employment Law is bound by a very specific set of rules that impacts every working person, and of course it’s important that an employee understands their rights. The impact of Covid-19 has caused a “domino effect” (understatement) in every aspect of life as we knew it, none more serious than a person’s livelihood. By the end of Week 2 of the lockdown, 1 million people had registered on the DWP website applying for Universal Credit. There are no statistics available that provide the background of applicants, yet needless to say there is a much greater need than before this crisis for help .
But what about “Furloughing”? Why has this become the new “buzz” word for employers and employees? The Government has put in place a temporary scheme which will allow employers paying into to the PAYE scheme to put employees on a temporary leave of absence (Furlough) and apply for a grant for up to 80% of the employees salary (capped at £2500.00 per month). This is known as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the criteria is very strict and clear.
The Government is "on track" to open system for furlough payments on April 20 2020, with payments to be made before the end of the month. The Chancellor, Mr Sunak said: "It will open on the 20th of April for applications is the working assumption. There will be several days between submitting an application and receiving cash.” The Chancellor also added that this time would allow for fraud checks and the processing of applications, with payments made before the end of the month.
For further information the following are useful:-
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme