Start a new job on Monday,,, am I eligible for furlough help?

Cloughy01

He, hopefully someone can help on this..
I start a new job on Monday and they are looking like they're in a position to furlough nearly the hole company. As I wasn't employed by them in February, am I eligible for furlough help? 

mwarby

I'm not sure anyone knows yet tbh

I guess there will have to be some kind of cut off, or the government risk being inundated with fraudulent claims(companies could claim to be hiring lots of staff, and get 80% of the max salary, then lay them off when the support ends).

Rose_Hill12345

Hi 
I have been posting about this on another thread. Here's a copy of the post I made a moment ago. I hope this answers your question:


Hi there
I have been doing some more research on this discussion. 

You should check out the website for Thomson Snell & Passmore. They are a very reputable firm local to me and their legal advice will be sound. Their website has a coronavirus support page, including a section on "Coronavirus and Employment Law". 

As we've already discussed, there are many reasons why it is not always clear whether there is a binding contract of employment. Look under the section called "Entering Employment" which sets out the different scenarios and explains the options available for each.  Bullet point 3 (headed "where an offer has been made and accepted")is relevant to this discussion. The firm seems to suggest that it is possible to immediately furlough a new employee under the coronavirus job retention scheme.

For anyone who has had a job offer withdrawn due to coronavirus, it is certainly worth a look on that for website for advice. Sorry, I have been unable to post a link to the precise page.

Hope this information helps people.

7Phil

I am not educated on this matter, and I thank Rose_Hill12345 for her excellent response as well:
I am guessing that one of the main points is that as long as you "turn up" to your first day at work you could then immediately be furloughed. Turning up could be a difficult point in this circumstance but as long as you could at least make contact with your manager on your first day, then that could be seen as you officially starting employment.

Stay in contact with your prospective employer now - verbal if you can and then back up any agreements in writing over email. Follow their advice and keep them on side. If things aren't go well for you I suggest you immediately seek legal advice (free or paid). You may have recourse through employment law if they retract a signed letter of offer.

Hopefully they will still need you and things will work out favourably for you.

calcotti

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6119611/furloughed-workers-please-read#latest
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/economy-business/work-incomes/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-how-will-it-fit-with-employment-law/

Which workers will be covered? 
On 24 March the Chancellor said in the House that all those who are on Pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) will be covered by the scheme. A number of employment lawyers noted on Twitter that this would exclude many who are ‘limb (b) workers’ under employment law. The point was also later made by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
It is unclear whether employees will need to have been employed by a particular date or worked for their employer for a particular length of time.
It is also unclear whether employers can re-hire employees they have already made redundant and put them on furlough. Government guidance does say the payments will be backdated to 1 March 2020. Alan Bogg and Michael Ford QC, Professors of Law at the University of Bristol, noted that under the current law, employees who are re-hired can still claim redundancy pay.

Cloughy01

just to clear guys,, and thanks for all your help. My new employer does want me to start however the concern is that I start on Monday and they furlough me on Tuesday, and because I wasn't employed on 29th February I couldn't make a claim. I was PAYE with my previous employer but they aren't yet in a position to furlough.

Thanks for any help

calcotti

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6119611/furloughed-workers-please-read#latest

selina2000

Cloughy01 said:

just to clear guys,, and thanks for all your help. My new employer does want me to start however the concern is that I start on Monday and they furlough me on Tuesday, and because I wasn't employed on 29th February I couldn't make a claim. I was PAYE with my previous employer but they aren't yet in a position to furlough.

Thanks for any help

You don't make a claim.

Either your employer decides to furlough you (keep you on their books, promise not to dismiss you, pay you) or they dismiss you i.e make you redundant.

If they make you redundant, then you can apply for normal state benefit such as universal credit.

Cloughy01

selina2000 said:
You don't make a claim.

Either your employer decides to furlough you (keep you on their books, promise not to dismiss you, pay you) or they dismiss you i.e make you redundant.

If they make you redundant, then you can apply for normal state benefit such as universal credit.

That's not the news I wanted  

7Phil

Cloughy01 said:

That's not the news I wanted  

We still aren't sure how this will get applied in all circumstances, and yours is a little different. More information is gradually coming out and I am sure it will be made clear how to deal with people that are just joining up like you.

It is correct in that you don't make a claim yourself. If furloughed, your employer will pay you 80% (or even 100% if they want) via the normal PAYE channels and the employer claims the money back from HMRC.
It may be the case that your 80% figure gets based on your salary as per letter of offer, in place of your salary as per 29 Feb (because you didn't have one). There is even a chance HMRC will accept your 80% based on your figure for your old PAYE with your previous employer -- but let's not jump to conclusions. We don't yet know.

I'm only guessing here but this seems like there are logical approaches to fairly dealing with this as opposed to your 80% being based on £0.

Don't panic yet. Do your best to secure your position on furlough for the time being, but who knows -- depending on your job role/sector and if restrictions do not get worse you can still attend and start your new job normally but with social distancing rules applied.
All is not lost.