The £2,500 cap

HAPPYHAMMER_2

I was furloughed from the 1st May.
My monthly pay is more than £2,500 so the government will cap what they pay...but I have become confused by reading the MSE guide to furlough....
The  guide states a couple of times that employers must pay a minimum of 80% of pay to get the government funds. Is this true in my case or does my employer only have to pay me the £2,500 capped amount they will receive from the government? Which would only give me 65% of pay
Thanks in advance.

calcotti

They have to pay the grant they receive and the grant is capped at £2,500.

HAPPYHAMMER_2

calcotti said:

They have to pay the grant they receive and the grant is capped at £2,500.

Thanks for confirming that the MSE guide is incorrectly worded.

EssJayD

MSE guide I read was pretty clearly worded tbh.  HMRC guide is also quite clear. 

whizzywoo

It's 80% or £2,500 whichever is the lowest figure.  Everything I've read on MSE Guide and Gov website was pretty clear about it.  

Jeremy535897

There is one Quick Question in the guide that doesn't specifically mention the cap, but it is clear from the rest of the guide. To the quick question "If furloughed, can my employer pay me less than 80% of my wage", the answer given is:

"If you've been furloughed by your employer, then it MUST pay you the FULL 80% of your wage – it can't pay you any less. If it does, or it asks you to carry on working while being furloughed (though you can be asked to go for training), speak to your employer and politely remind it of the rules.

Failing this, you can anonymously report your employer to HMRC's fraud department online. However, it may simply be a case of your employer being unaware of the rules."

calcotti

Jeremy, I was just about to post that sentence too! It’s the only one I could find that could be misconstrued but like you I think the overall context is clear.

bradders1983

Suppose the OP could just be greatful he is getting as much as that given threads on this forum of peoples lives being turned upside down and being busted down to Universal Credit. 

Jeremy535897

It highlights an issue I have raised before, that employers can pay more than the amount they can claim under CJRS. Pay reductions almost always require employee consent, and if you are paid a lot more than £2,500 a month, you might have to give such a reduction serious thought.

HAPPYHAMMER_2

Jeremy535897 said:

There is one Quick Question in the guide that doesn't specifically mention the cap, but it is clear from the rest of the guide. To the quick question "If furloughed, can my employer pay me less than 80% of my wage", the answer given is:

"If you've been furloughed by your employer, then it MUST pay you the FULL 80% of your wage – it can't pay you any less. If it does, or it asks you to carry on working while being furloughed (though you can be asked to go for training), speak to your employer and politely remind it of the rules.

Failing this, you can anonymously report your employer to HMRC's fraud department online. However, it may simply be a case of your employer being unaware of the rules."

Anyway apologies to everyone for using a public forum to ask a question for clarification.

And yeah if only 35% of my income was spare cash what a lucky person I would be.

Also this (as I said two occurances)

• You CAN'T work for your employer while on furlough. If you're placed on furlough as part of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, your employer is not allowed to ask you to work while you're furloughed (that's against the rules). It's also your employer's duty to pay you at least 80% of your wage – it can't pay less than 80%.

EssJayD

To be fair, that section does then state to see the formal HMRC guidance around the scheme and includes a link to it.