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Flexible Furlough Scheme Rules and Guidance
June 16, 2020
The Flexible Furlough Scheme (FFS) guidance has now been released and here’s what you need to know about the changes which will come into force on 1st July 2020.
What is the eligibility criteria?
To be eligible for furlough from 1st July an employee needs to have been furloughed for at least 3 consecutive weeks between 1st March and 30th June.
What is the new cap on the number of claims an employer can make?
After 1st July businesses will be limited by the maximum number of claims made in any single period between March and June.
For example, if you previously submitted three claims between March and June, in which the total number staff furloughed were 20, 10 and 25 employees respectively, then the maximum number you can furlough in a single claim will be 25.
Are there any exemptions?
Yes but only a handful. Employees returning from parental leave will still be eligible to be furloughed even though they have not been furloughed previously.
What are the changes to the claim period?
The FFS will mean that a claim period reduces from 3 weeks to 1 week meaning that the maximum number of claims in any given month is 4.
How much flexibility is there?
The new scheme means that you can, in essence, have any flexible working
pattern that works for your business as it begins to introduce employees back to work.
As an example - if your standard contractual working hours are 40 hours per week with working days of Monday – Friday you may have either (or both) of the following scenarios in your business:
- An employee working 2 days out of 5 (meaning that they are working 16 hours out of their contractual 40 hours)
- An employee working 5 days per week but only performing 4 hours of work each day (meaning that they are working 20 hours out of their contractual 40 hours)
How do I calculate a claim under the FFS?
If you have standard working hours and days within your business then it should be relatively straight forward, however for those with variable hours and pay it is going to be much more complex as this example calculation
shows.
Please ensure that when making any claims that you liaise with your Payroll Manager, HR Team
and/or accounts team to make sure that you're claiming and using the scheme correctly.
Do I need to issue new Furlough agreements?
Yes – if you are moving an employee onto the FFS you must confirm this in writing and keep a record of the communication. You should confirm the hours that the employee will work and those that they will not and confirmation that they must not perform any work for any period of Furlough (as with the current scheme)
It can get complex when dealing with a large number of employees who you plan to Furlough based on different working patterns but don’t let that put you off. Make the FFS fit into your business and not the other way (or you will be bogged down in the complexities of the claims process before you’ve even started!)
Our advice is to start by considering what is best for your business by looking at what roles you need to return to work, when you need these roles to commence again and the working hours that should be performed. From there, work out what your claim will be on a week to week basis to make sure that you are in the best possible position when the scheme launches on the 1st July.
If you need any further help or advice around Furlough or anything else HR related, please contact us
now
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