Furlough while being made redundant

Emilyanneharper

The company that i work for have just merged with another company and as a result of this have left employees being made redundant, due to being made redundant during COVID-19. Am i entitled to have furlough because i can't get a new job during this pandemic?   

lincroft1710

There is no "entitlement" to being furloughed, it is completely at the discretion of your employer, or previous employer if you are unemployed but eligible. 

epm-84

Furlough is an alternative to redundancy, which should be taken up if the employer may need you again once the COVID-19 pandemic dies down.  If they've decided your role won't be needed permanently then they can still make you redundant, which will mean you'll have to look at out-of-work benefits, if you're eligible for them.

Sambrown20

Can anyone help my work closed due to covid 19 I signed all the paperwork for furlough and got a letter saying I was on the scheme till 31st May a week later I received a letter to say I was layed off from 13th April till 11th May I am so confused does my employer still have to pay me 3 weeks furlough. 

epm-84

Sambrown20 said:

Can anyone help my work closed due to covid 19 I signed all the paperwork for furlough and got a letter saying I was on the scheme till 31st May a week later I received a letter to say I was layed off from 13th April till 11th May I am so confused does my employer still have to pay me 3 weeks furlough. 

Unless your contract says so they can't lay you off unless you agree to it.  If it does then you still get 'guarantee pay': https://www.gov.uk/lay-offs-short-timeworking/guarantee-pay

You need to speak to your employer - perhaps they planned to lay you off before the furlough scheme was announced and there was a delay in sending the letter?  If they've changed their mind you need to ask them why.

Sambrown20

Thanks I am having no luck with communication between myself and work and I the replies I am. Getting are very vague. 

bethanysthomp

I was made redundant because of the covid-19, I have tried to contact my employer about going on the furlough scheme but they have just ignored me. They also said I was not entitled to a last payment for the month of March which I worked and despite me asking still not sent me evidence to say/show why I am not entitled to pay for the hours I had worked, this had an effect on my claim for universal credit leaving me without money for a month and jobless. Can anyone give me advice on what I should do I have emailed so many times but they just ignoring me. 

Comms69

bethanysthomp said:

I was made redundant because of the covid-19, I have tried to contact my employer about going on the furlough scheme but they have just ignored me. They also said I was not entitled to a last payment for the month of March which I worked and despite me asking still not sent me evidence to say/show why I am not entitled to pay for the hours I had worked, this had an effect on my claim for universal credit leaving me without money for a month and jobless. Can anyone give me advice on what I should do I have emailed so many times but they just ignoring me. 

Start your own thread - but suffice to say it's small claims court

smadori

Hi all,
My contract was terminated due to Covid-19,.After reading about the possibility of been re-employed and furloughed I have contacted my employer to discuss the option but they said the option can't be considered at the moment due to:
- Request being submitted over a month after having had my contract terminated
- Risks of HMRC doing retrospective audits to ensure government funds are not being misused and given to employees they are not expecting to employ again - given that they do not see my position opening again in the near future
- Not having enough funds to cover the furlough - as the company would still have to pay and claim the money afterwards.
Whilst I do understand there is no obligation from the company to Furlough an employee or former employee, the reasons above don't seem to be entirely credible.
Would anyone be able to help with this? Will HMRC be doing retrospective audits? It seems to defeat the purpose of the benefit given that it's very difficult to predict what the future holds and which positions would or not reopen in order. Expecting companies to re-employ before the situation is over and a clearer outlook of the economy is in place seems unreasonale.
Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
Sara
 

sharpe106

My contract was terminated on the 23rd March due to Covid-19, along with many other positions within the company.
After reading about the possibility of been re-employed and furloughed I have contacted my employer to discuss the option but they said the option can't be considered at the moment due to:

- Request being submitted over a month after having had my contract terminated

How long had you been working for them? Assuming longer than a month then they could submit if they wanted.

- Risks of HMRC doing retrospective audits to ensure government funds are not being misused and given to employees they are not expecting to employ again - given that they do not see my position opening again in the near future

Governments do like audits, so they probably will be doing that. Very unlikely they will be accepting all these applications and doing no checks.

- Not having enough funds to cover the furlough - as the company would still have to pay and claim the money afterwards.

That sounds fair enough as you said several people had been left go.

Whilst I do understand there is no obligation from the company to Furlough an employee or former employee, the reasons above don't seem to be entirely credible.

Why do you think they are not credible?

Will HMRC be doing retrospective audits? It seems to defeat the purpose of the benefit given that it's very difficult to predict what the future holds and which positions would or not reopen in order. Expecting companies to re-employ before the situation is over and a clearer outlook of the economy is in place seems unreasonable.
The scheme was meant to be to protect jobs that may be lost, your company has obviously decided your job will be lost, so fails that criteria.