Furlough payment confusion - can anyone advise me please?

AnnaM_2

Dear MSE community, please could you advise me? I have gratefully been on furlough since 1st April, and was recalled from furlough as of 1st August. My place of work has always paid staff a month in arrears, and as there was no notification of any change to this I was expecting a final furlough payment on 24th August (for period of July). 
I received no payment. I queried it with my employer who told me that my final furlough payment was made at the end of July and that this was because they had moved from payments made in arrears, to payments made in the current month. In fact I was told: 
"To explain, there was no furlough payment in April because you received payment for the March claims that were processed for you.  Hourly paid staff did not receive a furlough payment in April, as per the furlough agreement."
But my furlough aggreement says: 
Hourly paid employees:  you will receive your salary for work undertaken in March in the usual way on the 24th April and calculated at 100% of your actual hours worked in March.  For the period 1 April onwards which will be paid in May, you will be paid on the same 80% basis as salaried employees but your basic salary will be the higher of etc.
And in my furlough extension aggreement it says: 
As you know, it was necessary to furlough you under the Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme from 1st April 2020. This involved you ceasing to carry out any work for us while continuing to pay you your normal pay in April and reducing your pay to 80% of your normal pay in May...
Am I right to be confused, or am I missing something? 
What course of action can I take?
Thanks



 

Jeremy535897

t sounds like you are missing a month's pay. If they were genuinely advancing your payments, you would be paid for July on 24 August, and for August on 31 August. If they say the move to payments in the current month took place earlier, then you should have received two payments in an earlier month.

Grumpy_chap

I agree that is very confusing. 
S
much so that I hesitate from trying to give an interpretation or present in a different fashion.

Hopefully someone else will be able to make more sense of it.

AnnaM_2

Thank you both, I just needed to check I'd not lost the plot. I will keep up my sleuthing and raise a grievance if necessary. 

Thrugelmir

The issue seems to be that the employer cannot pay you both furlough and your normal pay in the same month. In August were you paid for August? 

AnnaM_2

My furlough period ended on Aug 1st so I would not have expected a payment for Aug as whilst I have been recalled, I have not received any hours work. This fallow payment month usually occurs in September due to summer break and I am normally prepared for it. 
As it stood I was expecting to receive July's payment in August as per our traditional payment schedule. I've since been told that my employer decided to pay us in current month for May, June, July (citing extraordinary times), I've asked them to signpost me to where I would find this information and when we were told.
This scenario still doesn't explain what happened to April's furlough payment though (I was paid in April for actual hours worked and claimed for March as per normal payment schedule). According to my employer there has been alot of confusion amongst those of us that are hourly paid, so I fear it's not just me that has been affected.