Holiday pay while furloughed

sghughes42

Could someone clear this up for me please?

Are employers allowed to make us take holiday and then claim that from the furlough scheme, or do they need to pay us from their own pocket for any holiday we have to take?

I'll be working my notice on furlough. My employer has agreed to pay 100% during this notice which is good, and they are using the fact they are topping up by 20% to ask me to work one day a week which I'm fine with to tidy up loose ends. What I'm not clear on is that also want us to take any holiday we are entitled to rather than paying us for it. If they can claim this back from the CRJS then fair enough, it minimises their costs, if not then surely it makes no difference to them to pay us as they can claim the full 80% furlough?

sharpe106

They can make you use your holidays whilst furloughed yes and they can claim 80% of that from the government. They technically need to give you twice as long notice as they want you to take. 
You can't work at all whilst on furlough at the moment so you should not be doing the 1 day a week until next month. 

poppy12345

sghughes42 said:

So, to summarise, I'll in effect not get paid for this accrued holiday?

Of course you'll get paid... 100% wages, as advised.

sghughes42

poppy12345 said:

sghughes42 said:

So, to summarise, I'll in effect not get paid for this accrued holiday?

Of course you'll get paid... 100% wages, as advised.

This is what I can't quite get my head around. Normally I'd be able to take advantage of the holiday. Under these circumstances I can't. I don't know how true this is but I've heard about the option to get paid for unused annual leave, I took this to be above and beyond the notice pay. That is what I'm getting at, by being made to take it when I can't get any benefit (I've actually been advised to shield, I've discussed with my GP and been told my asthma isn't bad enough to need to but to still take great care) seems wrong somehow?

sharpe106

You are getting the benefit you are not working, furlough is not meant to be a holiday. You can get paid if the company would prefer you to work your notice instead of take holidays if they need you, but as they don't why would they pay it?

Jeremy535897

sghughes42 said:

poppy12345 said:

sghughes42 said:

So, to summarise, I'll in effect not get paid for this accrued holiday?

Of course you'll get paid... 100% wages, as advised.

This is what I can't quite get my head around. Normally I'd be able to take advantage of the holiday. Under these circumstances I can't. I don't know how true this is but I've heard about the option to get paid for unused annual leave, I took this to be above and beyond the notice pay. That is what I'm getting at, by being made to take it when I can't get any benefit (I've actually been advised to shield, I've discussed with my GP and been told my asthma isn't bad enough to need to but to still take great care) seems wrong somehow?

In a normal world without furlough, if you hand in or are given notice, you will be paid for it if you work, if you take holiday instead of working, or are paid in lieu. Your employer has the right to ask you to take holiday if proper notice is given (twice the holiday if nothing different in the contract of employment), and would logically do so rather than paying you extra for it particularly while, as far as they are concerned, you are already on holiday.

poppy12345

sghughes42 said:

poppy12345 said:

sghughes42 said:

So, to summarise, I'll in effect not get paid for this accrued holiday?

Of course you'll get paid... 100% wages, as advised.

This is what I can't quite get my head around. Normally I'd be able to take advantage of the holiday. Under these circumstances I can't.

If you live in England then hotels, holiday parks etc are all allowed to open from 4th July, providing they are covid secure.

spiro

When they say Holiday they mean time off work, they don't mean you going somewhere/anywhere.

sghughes42

Jeremy535897 said:

In a normal world without furlough, if you hand in or are given notice, you will be paid for it if you work, if you take holiday instead of working, or are paid in lieu. Your employer has the right to ask you to take holiday if proper notice is given (twice the holiday if nothing different in the contract of employment), and would logically do so rather than paying you extra for it particularly while, as far as they are concerned, you are already on holiday.

This is what confuses me - why raise the prospect of being paid for unused holiday when in the majority of circumstances the employer is just going to tell you to take them during your notice period? Even in non-furlough circumstances it seems very unlikely anyone would get paid for unused holiday so why is that highlighted so much?

sghughes42

spiro said:

When they say Holiday they mean time off work, they don't mean you going somewhere/anywhere.

I've read that there has to be a benefit to that time off work, that's the point I was making. I've already had plenty of enforced time off work so I don't need the break and I can't go anywhere.

sghughes42

poppy12345 said:

If you live in England then hotels, holiday parks etc are all allowed to open from 4th July, providing they are covid secure.

That's true, I'm not clear if people who are shielding are permitted to go. Even if they are there is no way I'm risking my already compromised health until it is clearer things are under control.