Employer paying me less than 80% for furlough weeks

Gibbymaster63

Hi my employer has just sent my pay slip.  They have said that the 2500 cap is the max for a full month and have adjusted this by dividing by 4 and them paying 3 times this amount as my furlough amount.  This is less than 80% of my monthly pay.  How is this legal or correct.  What if anything can I do about this.
Every site or thread on the gov sites clearly state no employee should be paid less than 80% or 2500 which ever is the lower, but they have only paid me 1875.  Yet 80% of my salary for the three weeks I have been furloughed is 2109.00. So my employer has paid me 234 less than the min.
What if anything can I do about this??

Jeremy535897

From guidance to employees:

"Both you and your employer must agree to put you on furlough - so speak to your employer about whether they can claim. Once agreed your employer must confirm in writing that you have been furloughed to be eligible to claim. Contact your employer if you do not receive confirmation.

If you are concerned that your employer has claimed on your behalf but is not paying you what you are entitled to as described in this guidance you should raise this with your employer in the first instance, then with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)."

"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 wages are calculated

If you are a full-time or part-time employee on a salary, then your monthly wages are based on your salary as at 28 February 2020.

If your pay varies and 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 your pay varies and you’ve been employed for less than a year, employers will claim for an average of your regular monthly wages since you started work.

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."

unholyangel

clarity needed with the figures but from what you've said so far, they've actually overpaid you. 

2500 (max monthly under the grant) *12 (to get yearly figure) /52 (to get weekly figure) *3 (number of weeks furloughed = 1730.77

calcotti

Amazing how often people divide a month by 4 to get a weekly amount! As unholyangel has pointed out this is incorrect, a month is longer than 4 weeks. The error works in your favour as unholyangel also said.

However if they have only paid you for three weeks but it is meant to be pay for a month that is clearly wrong. What are they saying about the rest of the month outside the three weeks?

If you were furloughed for the whole month you are entitled to 80% of your normal wage (or those parts covered by the scheme) or £2,500 whichever is lower subject to deductions for NI, tax and pension etc.

unholyangel

calcotti said:

Amazing how often people divide a month by 4 to get a weekly amount! As unholyangel has pointed out this is incorrect, a month is longer than 4 weeks. The error works in your favour as unholyangel also said.

However if they have only paid you for three weeks but it is meant to be pay for a month that is clearly wrong. What are they saying about the rest of the month outside the three weeks?

If you were furloughed for the whole month you are entitled to 80% of your normal wage (or those parts covered by the scheme) or £2,500 whichever is lower subject to deductions for NI, tax and pension etc.

Or how many people think you only need to multiply by 12 when you're paid every 4 weeks!

FWIW, I had similar thoughts about the employer only paying £1875 but a few phrasings in OP's post made me certain it's just for the furloughed period. 

I suspect the OP is getting confused between these two rules:
1) That the employer can claim up to 80% of your regular wage or £2500 - whichever is the lowest.
2) That the employer needs to pay you all the grant money they receive - which was orignally just included as a "employer cannot pay you less than the 80%" type comment but was updated last week to clarify. 

And has subsequently interpreted that to mean you can't be paid lower than 80% of your regular wage. Which you absolutely can, if 80% of your regular wage would be more than £2500. 

spydaz

I am  Kinda Confused ;

IF you have a Contract with your company for an annual salary ie 24k ;  with the furlow scheme they are paying 80 percent of the wage at the moment.

Are they not legaly required to fulfil the contact at the end of the year with the unpaid salary 20percent for the missing wages.

Yes; the gov has given them a grant for the wages but are they not legally bound to provide the salary regardless of actual hrs worked?

It seems as though they are not fulfilling thier contract. does this now invalidate all work contracts?

[Deleted User]

spydaz said:

IF you have a Contract with your company for an annual salary ie 24k ;  with the furlow scheme they are paying 80 percent of the wage at the moment. 

Are they not legaly required to fulfil the contact at the end of the year with the unpaid salary 20percent for the missing wages. 

They are not required to "fulfil" the top up at the end of the year, furlough is an amendment to the contract. Additionally employment is not usually a paid contract paid in instalments, but a rolling contract.

spydaz said:

Yes; the gov has given them a grant for the wages but are they not legally bound to provide the salary regardless of actual hrs worked? 

They are legally bound to meet the obligations set out in the contract, subject to any amendments made, furlough is an amendment.

spydaz said:

It seems as though they are not fulfilling thier contract. does this now invalidate all work contracts?

No it does not invalidate any or all work contracts, they are still fulfilling the contract, albeit an amended one. 

unholyangel

spydaz said:

I am  Kinda Confused ;

IF you have a Contract with your company for an annual salary ie 24k ;  with the furlow scheme they are paying 80 percent of the wage at the moment.

Are they not legaly required to fulfil the contact at the end of the year with the unpaid salary 20percent for the missing wages.

Yes; the gov has given them a grant for the wages but are they not legally bound to provide the salary regardless of actual hrs worked?

It seems as though they are not fulfilling thier contract. does this now invalidate all work contracts?

This is why you need to agree to be furloughed - because you are agreeing to vary the normal terms of your contract. If they hadn't furloughed you, they'd be due to pay your contracted minimum. Which is why the job retention scheme was put in place - because most employers would start terminating contracts rather than pay the contracted minimum for an undetermined length of time where there is no work for them to do. 

spydaz

unholyangel said:

spydaz said:

I am  Kinda Confused ;

IF you have a Contract with your company for an annual salary ie 24k ;  with the furlow scheme they are paying 80 percent of the wage at the moment.

Are they not legaly required to fulfil the contact at the end of the year with the unpaid salary 20percent for the missing wages.

Yes; the gov has given them a grant for the wages but are they not legally bound to provide the salary regardless of actual hrs worked?

It seems as though they are not fulfilling thier contract. does this now invalidate all work contracts?

This is why you need to agree to be furloughed - because you are agreeing to vary the normal terms of your contract. If they hadn't furloughed you, they'd be due to pay your contracted minimum. Which is why the job retention scheme was put in place - because most employers would start terminating contracts rather than pay the contracted minimum for an undetermined length of time where there is no work for them to do. 

SO ; Basically everybody who has been furloughed has WAIVED THIER RIGHTS? As this is not stated in the Furlough statements Provided by the employer or has not been said anything about this on the news?... SO : Contracts have all been violated?

spydaz

AS you know the Furlouh was forced on the population and we was not given actual chioces to NOT take the furlough and Force our respective companies to UPHOLD thier contracts or GO into recieverships or get running costs loans which is not the buisness of the employee; We was not TOLD it was AN AMMENDMENT to Our EXISTING CONTRACTS (NON DISPUTABLE); it does not seem legal to be forced to accept an ammendment to a contract without fair review and full discussion and the resigning by BOTH Partys to the AMENDED Agreement? this has happened to the whiole country ; employers seem to be given free reign to underpay by paying nothing ? And the goverment pay the wages of us all? this seems UNFAIR and ILLEGAL? how are our working Rights being protected?

LilElvis

spydaz said:

unholyangel said:

spydaz said:

I am  Kinda Confused ;

IF you have a Contract with your company for an annual salary ie 24k ;  with the furlow scheme they are paying 80 percent of the wage at the moment.

Are they not legaly required to fulfil the contact at the end of the year with the unpaid salary 20percent for the missing wages.

Yes; the gov has given them a grant for the wages but are they not legally bound to provide the salary regardless of actual hrs worked?

It seems as though they are not fulfilling thier contract. does this now invalidate all work contracts?

This is why you need to agree to be furloughed - because you are agreeing to vary the normal terms of your contract. If they hadn't furloughed you, they'd be due to pay your contracted minimum. Which is why the job retention scheme was put in place - because most employers would start terminating contracts rather than pay the contracted minimum for an undetermined length of time where there is no work for them to do. 

SO ; Basically everybody who has been furloughed has WAIVED THIER RIGHTS? As this is not stated in the Furlough statements Provided by the employer or has not been said anything about this on the news?... SO : Contracts have all been violated?

No, contracts have been varied by mutual agreement during the furlough period. When you return from furlough then the terms of your original employment contract will resume.