MARTIN Lewis has reminded bosses they can rehire staff if they’ve recently been made redundant to put them on furlough.
The move is estimated to help 500,000 employees who may have prematurely lost their jobs ahead of the furlough scheme ending.
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Furloughed employees are paid 80% of wages, up to £2,500 a month, if they can’t work during England’s four-week November lockdown.
The government support package was due to close on October 31 but was extended to help workers, particularly in the leisure and hospitality industries, through the month-long coronavirus shut down.
Thousands of workers were expected to be laid off before the Job Support Scheme launched on November 1, which sees the government wage subsidy drop to 62%.
Many businesses began consultations on redundancies back in September to meet October deadline, meaning many workers will have already been let go.
How long can I be furloughed for?
TO be eligible for furlough throughout November, employers must claim for a minimum for seven consecutive days.
But businesses are allowed to offer part-time arrangements, so it is possible that your income could be a mix of furlough and normal employment.
Your furlough arrangements are up to your employer, and HMRC says employers will be able to agree type of working arrangements with their staff.
The scheme is expected to come to an end when lockdown ends on December 2.
But Michael Gove has warned that lockdown could be extended, which could mean the furlough scheme is kept open too.
In April, MoneySavingExpert Martin persuaded the government to allow firms to rehire and furlough staff for jobs that fell through.
Now, he’s reminding bosses they can do the same this time around for employees who’ve recently been axed from the workforce.
In his latest newsletter, the consumer guru explained that all employees who were on the Real Time Information (RTI) payroll submitted to HMRC before October 31 can be put on the scheme.
“This includes those on the payroll on September 23 made redundant since,” he wrote.
Kevin Mountford, from savings broker Raisin UK, reckons this could affect around half a million former workers, based on a recent ACAS and YouGov study.
He said: “This is a worrying time for many right now, and another month on furlough may help ease the financial burden whilst looking for other work and planning your next move.”
Unfortunately, firms don’t have to rehire you but it’s worth asking in case your former employer is willing to do this.
Businesses have to cover National Insurance and employer pension contributions which, for the average claim, accounts for just 5% of total employment costs.
They must also continue to pay furloughed employees salaries and then claim it back from the government.
Employers are still able to choose to top up employee wages above the scheme grant at their own expense – but, again, they don’t have to.
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To be eligible for the scheme, employees can be on any type of contract, even if you’re part-time or a contract worker.
You don’t need to have been furloughed before and the business you work for doesn’t need to have already used the scheme either.
All employers with a UK bank account and UK PAYE schemes can claim the grant.
Boris Johnson announces that the furlough scheme will be extended throughout November
