Left company voluntarily - would I qualify for re-hire and furlough?

ejwade

Bit of a complex situation - I haven't actually finished with my job yet - my notice has been extended a couple of times, agreed because it was of mutual benefit (I had a few interviews cancelled, as well as an almost certain temp position as a direct result of the pandemic), but they have now told me they will not be agreeing to extend my employment any longer than a few weeks time.

I asked if it was possible to furlough me instead, and I was told that the purpose of the scheme is to prevent redundancies, that because my situation doesn't fall into this category, they would not be furloughing me.

Now, I have stated that the government are allowing people even to be re-hired by previous companies after leaving voluntarily, as long as not getting further employment was a direct result of the situation. My manager will put forward my case further if I can provide some evidence of this, so I will be sending a tweeted video by Rishi Sunak clarifying that this is possible, along with the wording he refers to from the Gov.uk website.

My question here is; I didn't have a specific job offer that was cancelled after handing in my notice here - I was definitely going to get some work, but the most I can evidence is cancelled interviews and job roles removed that I had applied for. Is this enough for me to be entitled to furlough under this condition? I'm a bit worried that I fall between the cracks because I technically left with nothing lined up, putting myself in some level of risk (just very minor at the time!)

bradders1983

You can ask.

They can say no. 

Worth a try.

Jeremy535897

The evidence you require is in the guidance:

"If you made employees redundant or they stopped working for you after 28 February

If you made employees redundant, or they stopped working for you on or after 28 February 2020, you can re-employ them, put them on furlough and claim for their wages from the date on which you furloughed them, even if you do not re-employ them until after 19 March 2020.

This applies as long as the employee was on your PAYE payroll as at 28 February 2020, which means an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 28 February 2020.

If your employee stopped working for you and was on a fixed term contract, you should also refer to the section ‘If your employee is on a fixed term contract’ below.

If you made employees redundant or they stopped working for you after 19 March 2020

If you made employees redundant, or they stopped working for you on or after 19 March 2020, you can re-employ them, put them on furlough and claim for their wages through the scheme from the date on which you furloughed them.

This applies as long as the employee was employed on 19 March 2020 and was on your PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020. This means an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 19 March 2020.

If your employee stopped working for you and was on a fixed term contract, you should also refer to the section ‘If your employee is on a fixed term contract’ below."

See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme