How is furlough pay calculated

brettd

My partner has been furloughed, she only works 22.5 hours at £8.21 per hour.  She was under the impression that this would be a simple calculation of 22.5 times £8.21 minus 20%. But this is not what she's been paid. She's been paid substantially less. She contacted her employer who said its been worked out as an average over the last year. She's on a fixed contract her hours and pay doesn't vary like someone whos on a zero hour contract. Ther only variation in her pay would be due to time off for illness or sonething like that. Her pay slip doesn't state how many hours she's been  paid for or how they've worked it out. I need help on how this furlough pay should be calculated please.

calcotti

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-could-be-covered-by-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme#how-much-youll-get

How much you’ll get
Your employer will get a grant to cover 80% of your regular wages, up to a maximum of £2,500.
Firms will be eligible for the grant from the date you ceased work, from 1 March. Your employer:

• will pay you at least 80% of your regular monthly wages, up to a maximum of £2,500, as your wage

• can claim for a minimum of 3 consecutive weeks and for up to 3 months - but this may be extended

• can choose to pay you more than the grant - but they do not have to

• cannot choose to pay you less than the grant

You’ll still pay Income Tax, National Insurance contributions, Student Loan repayments and any other deductions (such as pension contributions) from your wage.
How your monthly earnings are calculated
If you’ve been employed (or engaged by an employment business in the case of agency workers) for a full year, employers will claim for the higher of either:

• the amount you earned in the same month last year

• an average of your monthly earnings from the last year

If you’ve been employed for less than a year, employers will claim for an average of your regular monthly wages since you started work. The same arrangements apply if your monthly pay varies such as if you are on a zero-hour contract.
If you started work in February 2020, your employer will pro-rata your earnings from that month.
The grant paid to your employer will be calculated based on your regular, contractual pay, such as wages, compulsory commission and past overtime. The calculation will not include discretionary commission (including tips) payments or bonuses, non-cash payments or benefits in kind.

Jeremy535897

If she is on a fixed salary, the number used to calculate the grant the employer should receive is the salary at 28 February 2020. If the average wage over the year 2019/20 is substantially different, it implies one of two scenarios:

• her pay does vary, so they are correct
• she got a pay rise on a fixed salary (or more than one) over the year in which case the February 2020 figure should be used.

Remember this number is what the employer claims. They can pay her more. They cannot pay her less. They have to get her agreement to change her contract of employment and to furlough her. She can argue the calculation with them, and ultimately take a dispute to ACAS. There is always the risk that the employer simply makes her redundant.

brettd

Her pay doesn't fluctuate,  she's not on a salary as in she doesn't get paid sick pay etc. But her contract is set at 22.5 hours a week at £8.21 an hour. The only variation would be if she'd left with early fot an appointment or been sick. Her pay is not down by much, about £11 but its a lot to her.  And we can't work out why. Obviously this time last year the money she puck up would  be paid woukd have been before the annual pay increase.