Furlough Final Pay

scorpio16

Hi 
I have been on furlough over the past 6 months. My employer gave me 1 month notice as they cannot afford to keep me on. 

I need advice on my final months pay.

i have been paid my normal salary before furlough but my employer has deducted the furlough amount off so reduced my pay back to £2500. I was on furlough during my 1 Month notice period but I was under the impression I would be paid a full salary without the 80% reduction or £2500 cap.

Please advise if I should get a normal wage without furlough deduction for my final month salary.

thanks in advance. 

Jeremy535897

If your notice is no more than a week longer than the statutory minimum, you should be paid full salary. If it is more than that, see:
https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/notice-pay-furlough-pilon/

epm-84

Pay for the statutory notice period must be your usual pay (not furloughed pay): https://www.gov.uk/redundancy-your-rights/notice-periods

Pay for any contractual notice period above the statutory minimum should be what your contract says unless there's some clause in the furlough agreement which overrides it - such as agreeing to a pay reduction even after the furlough period ends, which at least one poster on here agreed to by not interpreting the furlough agreement wording the way his employer intended.

scorpio16

Hi thanks 
 I will try and take a look and hopefully it will make sense when I read the links.

Just for clarity
Contractually I received 1 month notice
On my payslip they have paid my original wage. 
In deductions under title They have put ‘furlough’ and have deducted £X amount to bring my basic back down to £2500 ( furlough cap)

I just didn’t think this was allowed on my final salary even if I was still furloughed

Just seems very unfair 

Thanks 

Jeremy535897

epm-84 said:

Pay for the statutory notice period must be your usual pay (not furloughed pay): https://www.gov.uk/redundancy-your-rights/notice-periods

Pay for any contractual notice period above the statutory minimum should be what your contract says unless there's some clause in the furlough agreement which overrides it - such as agreeing to a pay reduction even after the furlough period ends, which at least one poster on here agreed to by not interpreting the furlough agreement wording the way his employer intended.

You should get 100% if your contractual notice exceeds statutory notice by no more than one week.

scorpio16

Morning again Everyone 

so abit of an update

my employer is saying as I have worked there less than 2 years they terminated my contract not made me redundant.

Due to this the final period pay allows them to take final payment as furlough pay. They are saying the Gov article refers to redundancies over two years and it’s not applicable to me.

They have then sent me link below But you will need to add www. As I’m too new to add links 
Personnel today.com/hr/notice-pay-furlough-pilon 

I have read this and it doesn’t really back them up 100% in fact it seems to insinuate if I go to tribunal I should get the ruling in my favour.

please can anyone advise me if I should continue to take this further or are they correct and I can’t do anything about recovering the additional wage over 2500 furlough cap.

so confused but also angry they seem to be taking advantage of me.

thnx 

Jeremy535897

scorpio16 said:

Morning again Everyone 

so abit of an update

my employer is saying as I have worked there less than 2 years they terminated my contract not made me redundant.

Due to this the final period pay allows them to take final payment as furlough pay. They are saying the Gov article refers to redundancies over two years and it’s not applicable to me.

They have then sent me link below But you will need to add www. As I’m too new to add links 
Personnel today.com/hr/notice-pay-furlough-pilon 

I have read this and it doesn’t really back them up 100% in fact it seems to insinuate if I go to tribunal I should get the ruling in my favour.

please can anyone advise me if I should continue to take this further or are they correct and I can’t do anything about recovering the additional wage over 2500 furlough cap.

so confused but also angry they seem to be taking advantage of me.

thnx 

My earlier post (the first reply) included that link, and explained the situation. As your contractual notice period exceeds the statutory notice period by more than one week (statutory notice for someone working less than 2 ears is one week), you receive what your contract provides. It looks as if your contract was amended to reduce your pay to £2,500 a month while on furlough. Example 1 covers your situation:
"Example 1.
Kate has worked for her employer for 2½ years. Her contract says she is entitled to receive one month’s notice. She has agreed to accept 80% of normal pay while on furlough. Because she has worked for 2½ years, her statutory minimum notice period is two weeks. Her contractual notice period, one month, is at least one week more than the statutory minimum. Accordingly, s87(4) results in her not being entitled to statutory minimum notice rights, and her notice entitlement while on furlough is one month at her current contractual entitlement, i.e. 80% of normal salary."

Although this precedes the change in legislation on 30 July, that change only applies to statutory notice. I assume £2,500 is better than one week of statutory notice?

epm-84

The relevant bits from the newer government's press release could be:

"This legislation will also ensure that notice pay is based on normal wages rather than their wages under the CJRS.
...
the legislation also covers other employment rights that rely on average weekly pay, including notice pay, unfair dismissal, and short-time working"

In those sentences it does not say the word 'statutory' before notice pay.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-law-to-ensure-furloughed-employees-receive-full-redundancy-payments

Jeremy535897

That document says "These changes will also apply to Statutory Notice Pay, which is where employees must be given a notice period before their employment ends, varying from at least one week’s notice up to 12 weeks’ notice, depending on how long they have worked for their employer. During this notice period, employees must be paid."

epm-84

Jeremy535897 said:

That document says "These changes will also apply to Statutory Notice Pay, which is where employees must be given a notice period before their employment ends, varying from at least one week’s notice up to 12 weeks’ notice, depending on how long they have worked for their employer. During this notice period, employees must be paid."

Yes but what it says directly underneath that bit says it also applies to notice pay, not just Statutory Notice Pay.  If the paragraph above the sentence I quoted related to redundancy pay opposed to notice pay then perhaps it would be ambiguous but it isn't.

These changes will also apply to Statutory Notice Pay, which is where employees must be given a notice period before their employment ends, varying from at least one week’s notice up to 12 weeks’ notice, depending on how long they have worked for their employer. During this notice period, employees must be paid.

This legislation will also ensure that notice pay is based on normal wages rather than their wages under the CJRS.

Jeremy535897

The whole context of this document is related to statutory payments. It starts with:
"Government brings in law to ensure furloughed employees receive statutory redundancy pay based on their normal wages, rather than a reduced furlough rate."

If your interpretation was correct, it would just say redundancy pay. The idea that it would relate only to statutory redundancy, but all notice pay, is inconceivable. The document is poorly worded, so look at the actual legislation:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/814/made

This deals with the calculation of weekly wage for the purposes of statutory payments. It has no bearing on contractual arrangements that offer more than the statutory minimum.