Limited company furlough - can I search for contracts

froszty

I'm the sole employee of my limited company and am considering furloughing myself as I have lost all contract work. 

My accountant has informed me that I cannot look for new contracts while furloughed.

I cannot find this explicitly stated anywhere. Is this correct? 

Caz3121

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/04/self-employed-help-coronavirus/

• If you do furlough yourself you can't then work for the firm, but you can continue to perform your statutory obligations as directors, eg, official legal filings (in the video Martin discusses how far this reaches).

Grumpy_chap

You can't work.  This thing about unable to look for new contracts is a bit absurd as it is in the Government & everybody else's interest that you try to get new contracts and take yourself off furlough (as you would then be working).

mobilejo

Grumpy_chap said:

You can't work.  This thing about unable to look for new contracts is a bit absurd as it is in the Government & everybody else's interest that you try to get new contracts and take yourself off furlough (as you would then be working).

I agree.

Be interesting to see what will happen to those directors who do things like look for new business, pay invoices, general admin etc just to keep their company alive, but not any income generating work - and lets face it, there will be loads that do regardless of the 'rules'. 

The resources it would take to 'catch' a director browsing a contracts website looking for new work, or ringing old contacts to see if there is any work available, would far outweigh any benefit there would be in catching them. 

Jeremy535897

3 weeks furlough, do what you need to do for as long as it takes, 3 weeks furlough.

froszty

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like there is some ambiguity still.

I completely agree that it seems odd that while on furlough you are unable to take a small action that would remove that burden from the state

Hermann

There is no ambiguity concerning the criteria that if furloughed you must do no work for the employer that furloughs you.

Chasing contracts, marketing etc are not allowed if furloughed. Might not seem to make sense but those are the rules.

Andy_L

froszty said:

I'm the sole employee of my limited company and am considering furloughing myself as I have lost all contract work. 

My accountant has informed me that I cannot look for new contracts while furloughed.

I cannot find this explicitly stated anywhere. Is this correct? 

Once you are on furlough you will not be able to work for your employer. You can undertake training or volunteer subject to public health guidance, as long as you’re not:

• making money for your employer or a company linked or associated to your employer
• providing services to your employer or a company linked or associated to your employer

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-could-be-covered-by-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme#while-youre-on-furlough