With news that the Government’s Job Retention Scheme has been extended until March, some employers are now questioning how it will affect potential redundancies and restructuring. Despite financial support and incentives to maintain staff numbers, it is now becoming an unfortunate reality that some businesses are now having to face the potential of redundancies. Here’s how the latest furlough developments may affect you.
If your employees are currently working their notice period or are due to
Employers cannot claim furlough for periods starting on or after 1st December 2020 if the employee is serving a contractual or statutory notice period (this includes if the employee is retiring or resigning). This means that if the employee is serving notice after that date, they will need to be paid from your business whether they are furloughed or not.
If you made employees redundant after 23 September 2020
If you have already made employees redundant after 23 September 2020, you can re-employ them and furlough them. In order to do this, you must have submitted a PAYE RTI submission for them between 20 March and 30 October.
If you are considering redundancies
Should you have found yourself in the situation where you feel you may now need to make redundancies, we strongly recommend speaking to an HR expert before you make any decisions. The redundancy process requires careful planning, with at least a 30 to 45-day consultation periods where you are planning to make more than 20 employees redundant. With upcoming festive celebrations and the likelihood that staff members will be taking annual leave as well as being furloughed, we suggest that you properly plan any potential redundancy processes to ensure that they are as fair as possible. You may find our recent blog on when the best time is to make redundancies, a useful read.
As ever, the team at Dakota Blue are always here to help and advise you with any HR issues and are experienced in guiding businesses of all sizes through redundancy and restructuring processes.