Furlough notice salary

[Deleted User]

valueman1 said:

I may now need to take legal advice, although I do think a lot of employees will find themselves in a similar position. 

What you have to consider is that really worth it? The bad blood it may generate, on top of the potential reputational damage as a "difficult" employee that may become known if the industry is close-knit is probably not worth it. It might be different if they were making you redundant, but as you are leaving of your own volition it does seem a tad aggressive on your part. 

valueman1

Thanks MadMattUK, this is a good point and something I will bear in mind.  It's the principle really that I should receive what I am entitled to.  You could argue that they are being aggressive by (arguably) underpaying me during my notice period and having not topped up my furlough, which I know they are not obliged to do, but many companies have done.  This has put me in a position where I have to look for another job to support my family.

[Deleted User]

@valueman1
It is a difficult position to be in. I am lucky that I was in a position to top up the payments for my staff to 100% and ignore the cap, but I know that not all are in a position to do that and I have done so despite revenue in March and April being less than 20% of normal (so making a net loss in those months). I also have friends whose employers are on the verge of going into liquidation because they have large investments in plant or machinery that they still have to pay for whilst currently having very low revenues, despite being comfortably profitable during normal times and so are unable to top up employee wages whilst those people are furloughed, so I can really see there is a difference in position.

valueman1 said:

It's the principle really that I should receive what I am entitled to.  

In general I agree, but I am also one to be very pragmatic, sometimes it is worth it, other times the additional costs are not always worth the immediate benefits.

valueman1 said:

You could argue that they are being aggressive by (arguably) underpaying me during my notice period and having not topped up my furlough, which I know they are not obliged to do, but many companies have done. 

I would argue that is not aggressive at all, just pragmatic. The alternative may well have been to make you redundant.

valueman1 said:

This has put me in a position where I have to look for another job to support my family.

That is an unfortunate case for many to be in, my caveated opinion would be that if I were recruiting (which is unlikely for a year or two with this and Brexit) is that if I were presented with a choice between two (or in the current climate, perhaps dozens) of equally qualified, skilled and experienced candidates, the one who had taken legal action against a previous employer about notice pay during furlough would not be top of my list and I suspect many prospective employers would take the same pragmatic view. 

Regardless of the fairness of it, some people get tarred with the reputation of being a "difficult" employee and that is often hard to wash off. I am not saying that you are a "difficult" employee, but that in the current employment climate the risk of that might not be worth the few thousand extra you might gain in the short term, of course that could probably be mitigated if you have a new job to go to before you hand in your notice. 

valueman1

Thanks MadMattUK.  I appreciate your view as an employer.

[Deleted User]

valueman1 said:

Thanks MadMattUK.  I appreciate your view as an employer.

I've been an employee too so I have a bit of a feel for both sides. Good luck with it all, I hope you find the right new job soon!

Jeremy535897

valueman1 said:

Thank Jeremy535897, my contractual notice period is three months which exceeds the statutory notice period (4 years service = 4 weeks).  'Salary and other benefits' are not defined in this context.  It seems that my Company is of the opinion that the furlough salary has become the relevant salary for my notice period.  As you say, I may now need to take legal advice, although I do think a lot of employees will find themselves in a similar position. 

Yes, that is the best course of action if the 20% is a worthwhile figure. Show your lawyer the link I provided.No doubt they will be aware of others.