Furlough Help

tommy0316

Hi, i was wondering if anyone can help me with a furlough question that i have?
I work for a community centre that was forced to close during lockdown and all staff were placed on furlough in April. It was announced today that we can reopen as of the 4th July however we cannot operate at a 100% as many of the things we do are still not allowed, things such as indoor exercise activities etc. I have just been told by the person that submits our furlough application that we will not be able to claim any furlough payments after 4th July as we are allowed to reopen. This seems strange to me as we will not be able to generate anywhere near the income that we need to cover staff costs and as such redundancies will need to be made. Does anyone know if this is true? Is there anyway that we can still be kept on the furlough scheme even if the centre itself is now allowed to open?

sharpe106

Furlough does not matter if a company is open or closed, you can still claim furlough and be busier then you were before in theory. There is also the option of part time furlough which is probably a better option for them.

Is it a government funded the community centre?

tommy0316

Thanks for the quick response. No we are not funded by the government.
I was under the impression that what you wrote is completely true. However the company that submits our PAYE and claims the furlough for us has said that we cannot claim. When i asked why they said the following: 'When you enter the claim on the HMRC portal you have to submit that you have had to furlough staff due to covid closure guideline restrictions. Once a business is legally allowed to reopen it stands to reason that you cannot lawfully submit against it'.
To me that makes no sense at all as other businesses etc would be forced to fire staff, 

sharpe106

Companies that are operating at full capacity have been able to furlough people for childcare, shielding, having a black cat, pick your own reason. It has not just been for people that are being made redundant (although granted was original idea). If there logic was right the scheme will  pretty much end on the 4th July. As very few companies will still have to be shut. Just remind them of the current guidance for employers.

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

tommy0316

That's what I thought. I'm not sure why I was told differently tonight. Thanks for the help.

[Deleted User]

tommy0316 said:

That's what I thought. I'm not sure why I was told differently tonight. Thanks for the help.

Most people so not understand the CJRS, quite a few of those people will be company owners, changing their mind however might be the difficult part.

Dottydoolay

Just because it can re-open doesn’t mean there’s work there to do or enough hours to maintain staff wages.
Furlough is available in some form until October for good reason. Whether your employer wants to continue on the scheme though is sadly as from the start up to them.