Furlough eligibility by payroll

Dd88

Hello,

A friend of mine who has already received a furlough payment has had their employment terminated today, with the reason being that she hadn’t received a salary prior to 19th March, therefore is no longer eligible for the scheme....despite being eligible at one point. 

Her employment for the company commenced on the 17th February, but didn’t get paid her first salary until the 27th March, and has been told she will receive furlough payment for April, but that will be it.

What are people’s thoughts on this, as it seems harsh to me. If she started on the 17th February, why isn’t she getting a payslip on the 28th Feb? That would have made her eligible for furlough. Also, if the company had already furloughed her, and now they’re not - what’s changed? 

Something doesn’t seem right with this. Her contract of employment started on the 17th February - is there some kind of employment law contravention here if she hasn’t received a payment for February?

Any help would be great, thanks guys.

Dd88

lincroft1710

Starting work only 12 days before the end of a month often means that you cannot be added to the company payroll until the following month. Not unlawful, providing the correct salary is paid to include the previous month.

gary83

No, to to be eligible for furlough the company needed to process her RTI by the 19th of March, as she didn’t get paid her first salary until the end of March it’s unlikely this happened. As such she was one of the many new starters that fell through the gap of the furlough scheme. 

In a way, and I appreciate it definitely won’t seem that way to her and is absolutely no help, she could count herself lucky that she got anything at all before the company noticed the error in their claim, many people in the same situation as her have received nothing.

she can only hope the government changes the dates again and the company agrees to rehire her. In the meantime she should look at what benefits are available.

LilElvis

Most companies have a cut off for processing payroll, so anyone joining after that date would receive their first payment in the following pay period - it's totally normal and lawful. Eligibility for being placed on furlough was that she needed to have been included in the company's payroll submission to HMRC by 19th March - she missed their February submission and it would appear that the company's submission for March was made after 19th March. There is nothing the employer can do to change the rules - it's just a case of very bad timing for your friend.

Dd88

Ok guys, thanks for the quick responses they’ve been very helpful!

Thanks

Dd88

calcotti

If needed she can look at eligibility for Universal Credit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/. 

There are online calculators to help her assess entitlement  https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

She should be aware that claiming UC will end any Tax Credits, Housing Benefit or other means tested benefits she currently gets.

She will be excluded from UC if she has savings over £16,000.

She may also be able to claim Council Tax Reduction from her local council.

If she is part of a couple they both have to claim and are assessed on their joint circumstances.

gbu_2

gary83 said:

she can only hope the government changes the dates again and the company agrees to rehire her. In the meantime she should look at what benefits are available.

At the moment this seems unlikely to extend the cut off date but what do you think the chances would be if they continue the lockdown and go beyond June, is there a chance the original cut-off date of March 19th could be extended to help the ones that have fallen through these cracks?

gettingtheresometime

gbu_2 said:

gary83 said:

she can only hope the government changes the dates again and the company agrees to rehire her. In the meantime she should look at what benefits are available.

At the moment this seems unlikely to extend the cut off date but what do you think the chances would be if they continue the lockdown and go beyond June, is there a chance the original cut-off date of March 19th could be extended to help the ones that have fallen through these cracks?

It's only my opinion but as the lockdown seems to be crumbling away, unless there's a 2nd spike, I'd be surprised if it lasted the whole of May let alone went beyond June.