Government to pay wages of those not working and boost benefits in new coronavirus measures

Jeremy535897

To benefit from the furloughed employee scheme, your employer has to lay you off and you can't work for them at all. You might qualify for universal credit, depending on your savings, what you still earn, whether you have a partner and/or children. You can use the Government eligibility checker. It may also be possible to get some part time work at a supermarket to make up the loss of earnings.

Emphil

Does anyone know If a business was to make some lay offs but still be able to keep some staff on, would the business still be eligible to apply for the furloughed employee scheme? or would the business have to completely close for this to happen ? 

NaughtyRobot

I work in a high street shop (non essential) and expect to be furloughed soon. Can I benefit from the 80% relief and take a second job at a supermarket in the meantime? 

little_green

luchar0706 said:

Hi I don’t know if I’m posting in the right section but here I go...I work in a bank...I understand that we have to keep open for customers but as with everyone else in the world I am worried. I took my daughter out of school a week earlier than they closed (personal choice and I had the time booked off for holiday) I’m due to go back next week but I am panicking. At the end of the day we don’t know that people walking through the door are following government guidelines we are taking the chance that customers are healthy..there is no way we can social distance in branch. I will be knowingly taking that chance that I could possibly be bringing covid 19 home with me...schools are opening ..yes...but being that they could be a mass gathering /breeding ground is the reason I took her out in the first place! I know I’m considered a key worker but I do not feel comfortable sending her back. The main reason being I have too many vulnerable people in my family...and with them putting themselves in isolation I have no one to look after her. With the risk of sounding a complete idiot I put my concerns out to you guys...would I lose my job by not going back straight away? Please any advice would be greatly received 
thanks 

in a very similar situation, would like to hear the responses. It's all very well the gov putting things in place but when you are being forced to work by your employer it's very difficult & as pointed out above it is a concern for the risk to your health & the risk to your family members health. 

nigandjules

I am totally appalled by the lack of provision for self-employed people.
I have lost all of my income as a face and body paint artist to the virus, my husband is still (currently) working so I can't claim the £98 sick pay that I potentially would be able to claim, even though that wouldn't pay my bills or feed my three children or myself or husband.
 I really don't know what is going to happen, and I am very upset.
For the employed who have lost their work, 80% of your salary paid, regardless of any other situation, you are actually being paid your normal amount as at least 20% is tax anyway.
For those in the hospitality, makeup or the entertainment business we are being overlooked and are absolutely distraught. I do hope something will be done very quickly to help as many others are feeling like second class citizens and disregarded.

p00hsticks

nigandjules said:

For the employed who have lost their work, 80% of your salary paid, regardless of any other situation, you are actually being paid your normal amount as at least 20% is tax anyway.

My understanding (from Radio 4 Moneybox) is that the 80% will be subject to tax and NI in the usual way - it's not tax free.  So it is a reduction in wages.

nigandjules said:

I am totally appalled by the lack of provision for self-employed people.
 I really don't know what is going to happen, and I am very upset.

It must be a very worrying time for peopel in your position and I think the government has accepted that little is currently being done for the self employed (other than those small businesses with premises, which saw various measures announced earlier in the week) and are looking to do more. However I suspect it's going to difficult to find a workable system that can be quickly and easily implemented .

I imagine that it's relatively straight forward for HMRC to use the existing PAYE system to get money to employers to pay furloughed staff. but I've no idea how they can go about getting money to the self employed in the same way, other than by piggy backing onto the existing benefits system in some way.

Lincoln0123

So I am a key worker however my child’s nursery says unless it gets a direct order to remain open it will close tomorrow. My public sector employer has stated that if I have to take time off my job as a key worker to look after my children it will be classed as unauthorised absence and will be unpaid. At first read of the article I would not be entitled to 80% of my wages from the Government as I’m not being laid off. Any ideas anyone?

Jeremy535897

There are too many different questions on one thread, as I said earlier. On furloughed employees, here is the Government guidance:

"If your employer cannot cover staff costs due to COVID-19, they may be able to access support to continue paying part of your wage, to avoid redundancies.

If your employer intends to access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, they will discuss with you becoming classified as a furloughed worker. This would mean that you are kept on your employer’s payroll, rather than being laid off.

To qualify for this scheme, you should not undertake work for them while you are furloughed. This will allow your employer to claim a grant of up to 80% of your wage for all employment costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

You will remain employed while furloughed. Your employer could choose to fund the differences between this payment and your salary, but does not have to."
In short:
It looks as if you can work for someone else, if your contract of employment permits it (NaughtyRobot). You have to be laid off (Lincoln0123). The business does not have to lay off everyone (Emphil).
There is clearly something very wrong going on with childcare. On the one hand there are providers shutting down and still asking for 50% of childcare fees for not looking after the children. On the other there are self employed child carers who have seen their incomes disappear. I do not understand how key workers with children under school age are supposed to continue working, unless there are two adults in the family and one is not a key worker and can stay at home. The fact that a public sector employer is so unsympathetic is not encouraging.
I have posted elsewhere how there is a misconception among the self employed one person businesses that employees have it good in comparison. Unfortunately this is not the case for many employees who are put on zero contract hours with no guarantee of any work, or just have their hours slashed, or are just sacked.

Lala20

Hiya   im new to this so I hope I’m doing this right. I was just looking for a little bit of advice...I work in a hair salon and they are remaining open at this time. After a busy day yesterday  a fellow hair dress is rearranging all my appointments for next week to another stylist! When I confront my manager with what is going on they inform me that I will be taking two weeks off unpaid. They recommended that I take statutory sick pay yet I’m fit and well to work (so not sick or living with someone with symptoms) they have also said they will
not be taking part in the 80% wages scheme and I’m not sure why although I have my suspicions. If anyone can just offer me some advice that would be ace!  

TheBlueReptile

So would this cover employees who wouldn't be laid off, but would be forced not to work should the country go into lockdown? My employer has made it clear that in the event of a lockdown we would all be on SSP but I'm struggling to grasp if this new subsidy would cover that situation or if it strictly only applies to employees that would have lost their jobs entirely.