Changing calculation basis for furlough pay/hours

Ceeem

I have 2 employees who work irregular hours, who have been furloughed since late March and still are; when first calculating the 80% earlier in the year it made sense to use the wages they received in the same pay period last year as reference, as they worked more over Spring and Summer than they did on average over the year. It is now the other way round, as they were working fewer hours around October and November last year. Am I supposed to carry on using the same system as previously used, or can it/should it be reassessed with each claim period?

Jeremy535897

If your employees are not fixed rate employees, reference salary for CJRS was based on the higher of:

• their average wage for 2019/20, up to when they were furloughed
• their pay in the equivalent calendar period last year

Ceeem

Thanks, I understand that, my question is whether the calculation basis must remain the same as it was when they were first furloughed in March, or if it can/should be reassessed for each pay period and/or claim period. Back in March and for the whole Summer it was a clear case that using the same as the equivalent calendar period last year was better for them, but it is no longer the case, and for October and November it would be more beneficial to use the average; is it what I'm supposed to do, or does calculation method have to remain the same all year.

Jeremy535897

I don't think you do understand. You revisit for every pay period, and you pay the higher of the average (which will always be the same figure) or what was paid for the same pay period last year (so for October, you look at October 2019).

Ceeem

OK that's exactly what I wanted to hear, that I revisit for every pay period, which is good news for everyone!

Jeremy535897

Here it all is in black and white:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/steps-to-take-before-calculating-your-claim-using-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Ceeem

Thanks, I have one more question if you can enlighten me on that... Based on the guidance to calculate 80% of the average wages:
" 1. Start with the amount of wages that were payable to the employee in the tax year up to the day before they were first furloughed.
2. Divide it by the number of days from the start of the tax year – including non-working days (up to the day before they were first furloughed"
Should that be the wages actually paid before the day they were furloughed, or the wages due up to the day they were first furloughed? So for instance, if they were furloughed say on 23rd March, and still worked normally up to 23rd March but were only paid for those hours on 29th March, should those 3 weeks be included in the calculation, or just whatever had been been submitted via RTI at the previous pay date?

Jeremy535897

You go by hours worked up to the date of furlough. See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/steps-to-take-before-calculating-your-claim-using-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme#variable-hours

Different rules apply if the rate per hour varies.