I have been placed on furlough but unpaid furlough due to being placed on payroll too late

arsenal500

I will not name the company however i have been placed on furlough but not paid furlough despite starting my employment on the 16th of February however the company didn't put me on the payroll until later on they say. I am confused as fellow colleagues who also started the same date as me have been placed on paid furlough whilst i havn't yet the company say its down to my joining date ( makes no sense due to other employees starting the same date ) This possibly sounds like the company failed to put me on their payroll when i started and the government have denied me a payment? What shall i do as i am currently on ' unpaid furlough '  but still employed receiving no payments and can't claim benefits due to being employed. If i resign it means i'm out of a job when things return to normal and it effects my career.

Where do i go from here as i feel i've been completely screwed over despite the governments best efforts to help more people out.

poppy12345

I just answered your question on another thread.

To be furloughed then your employer must have sent the RTI on or before 19th March, if this wasn't done then you can't be furloughed. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/furlough-scheme-cut-off-date-extended-to-19-march

Being employed doesn't mean you can't claim Universal Credit. UC is for those that work as well as those that don't work. Whether you're entitled will depend on your circumstances. Savings/capital of more than £16,000 will exclude you.

A claim for UC will end any tax credits you may already be claiming.

Use a benefits calculator to check entitlement. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

arsenal500

I don't understand why employees who started the same time have been granted paid furlough and i havn't. Surely this isn't my fault?

Jeremy535897

From your previous post:

Have you ever been paid? I find a number of matters surprising in your post:

• your employer had until 19 March to put you on the payroll to be able to furlough you and claim under the CJRS. If you started on 16 February why weren't you paid by 19 March?
• have you been employed for almost 3 months without any pay at all? Have you actually done any work for your employer?
• have you received a formal furlough agreement and have you accepted it, together with amendments to your contract of employment?
• if you have not been paid why are you denied benefits?
• the government cannot deny you pay. You should be paid according to the terms of your contract of employment. Whether your employer can recover any of your wages under the CJRS is a matter for them.

arsenal500

Jeremy535897 said:

From your previous post:

Have you ever been paid? I find a number of matters surprising in your post:

• your employer had until 19 March to put you on the payroll to be able to furlough you and claim under the CJRS. If you started on 16 February why weren't you paid by 19 March?
• have you been employed for almost 3 months without any pay at all? Have you actually done any work for your employer?
• have you received a formal furlough agreement and have you accepted it, together with amendments to your contract of employment?
• if you have not been paid why are you denied benefits?
• the government cannot deny you pay. You should be paid according to the terms of your contract of employment. Whether your employer can recover any of your wages under the CJRS is a matter for them.

I missed the cut off date for February so i was paid at the end of March ( last day ) 
I was employed from the 16th of February and paid at the end of March 
I was told i would not be able to claim universal credit due to being employed 
If it is to do with thr RTI then why is it staff who started on the same date have been accepted? 

calcotti

arsenal500 said:

I was told i would not be able to claim universal credit due to being employed 

That’s incorrect. Entitlement to UC depends on your circumstances and income you receive. 
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/. 

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

Be aware that claiming UC will end any Tax Credits, Housing Benefit or other means tested benefits you currently get.

You will be excluded from UC if you have savings over £16,000.

You may also be able to claim Council Tax Reduction from your local council.

If you are part of a couple you both have to claim and assessed on your joint circumstances

Jeremy535897

I assume from your answers that you have not been paid since the end of March, you haven't received a furlough agreement, and your contract of employment is as it was. Nobody can answer your question as to why other people who joined your employer at the same time as you can be furloughed, but from what you say you were not on the RTI system by 19 March 2020, so cannot be furloughed for the purposes of the CJRS.

As you only joined recently, you have next to no statutory entitlements (one week's notice). Your employer could just let you go. If you have no income, see Poppy's advice on universal credit. I assume you do not claim tax credits (starting a claim for universal credit stops tax credits). You might be able to claim new style job seekers allowance. If you have a mortgage, ask for a 3 month payment break. See if your local council will give you a council tax reduction.

arsenal500

So i've done some research on the RTI submission process and it makes sense now however it still doesn't answer why people who started the same time as me received paid furlough, however i think extending the date to the 19th of March was just a pointless as having it at the end of February. The date should of been right at the end of March or right at the beginning of April because lets face it no one was employed after the lockdown ( March 23rd)  was announced and pretty much every company froze their recruitment process so extending the dates didn't help anyone starting a job right before lockdown began and companies then began to put their employees on furlough.  

bradders1983

If the date was after the announcement of the scheme it would have lead to a host of frauduent claims as unscrupulous employers would have whacked all their mates and family on the payroll in order to get a load of free money.  Cutoff had to be before the original announcement for that very reason.

poppy12345

Some people became eligible once the date was changed, even with the added RTI. Unfortunately. there will also be some people that fall through the gaps because they could please everyone. Even if the RTI information was sent within the time it was still the employers decision whether they furloughed employers or not.

Depending on what job you do, you maybe asked to return to work soon. If you do claim UC do be aware that there's a 5 week wait for first payment. You can ask for an advance payment but this needs to be repaid back from future UC payments.

arsenal500

Demand has reduced massively so i highly doubt i'll be called back for work. Does anyone know whether it is legal to fire someone who is on furlough as i believe this is the case at the moment. I feel due to demand within the company falling its only a matter of time before they can fire me but i get the idea companies try to avoid firing employees whilst on furlough.