Am I eligible for furlough (2nd time)?

Fx777

Hi all
Long story but i'll try to keep it as short as possible. In Feb 2020 (just before Covid hit) I resigned from my employer to start a new job on 1 April. Because of lockdown (was a job in retail) I wasn't able to start the new job so the offer was retracted on 20 March.  By that point, my old employer had already got a replacement for my old role so I wasn't able to take back by notice and stay on.  However, very kindly, they agreed to technically allow me to retract my resignation and agreed to keep me on furlough until 30 June and pay me until then.  I then left and have been looking for a new job since then.  In early October, my old employer contacted me to say a vacancy had arisen so if I was still looking for a job, I could come back, so I did on 15 October.  As this was past the cut off for payroll, I didn't receive wages before 30 October, and so I missed this 30 October RTI deadline to be on payroll for furlough again.  Looking at the gov.uk guidelines today regarding furlough it says

Employers can claim for employees who were employed and on their PAYE payroll on 30 October 2020. The employer must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between the 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee.

The second sentence seems to contradict the first? So does that mean I would be eligible for payroll as I was paid furlough wages in March, April, May and June by my old employer and would expect my next wage at the end of November.

Any help would be really appreciated. Thank you.

Grumpy_chap

It looks like, on a technicality, you may be eligible.  That does not mean the employer will wish to do so, especially as it is doing you a favour a second time.  They may also not have the internal systems to allow them to process this if your new employment is all under a new pay-roll number etc. and the employer may not wish to confuse the new employment with the old because of length of service concerns.  All you can do is ask, and if they say no you don't lose anything.  Keep focused on the return to work in December.

Yahoo_Mail

Isn't this two criteria that need to be satisfied rather than a contradiction?

i.e You need to be on the payroll on the 30th of October AND an RTI submission has to have been made between 20th March and 30th October?  Presumably to avoid them furloughing people who are no longer on the books?

Fx777

Thanks for the info.  To clarify, my employer does indeed want to put me on furlough - they said only yesterday they didnt want to lose me again, however as of yesterday  the guidance was I had to be on payroll on 30 October which i wasn't, however today that second paragraph seems to be have appeared on the gov.uk website  saying:-
The employer must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between the 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee.
That wording seems to have changed since yesterday, I think, so maybe with the extension of the scheme to end of March they added that in?  I don't know.  Also, I am on the same payroll number as I was last time (I believe they reinstated me rather than put me on as a new starter etc).

Grumpy_chap

Except, Rishi today said that it is allowed to re-hire people made redundant after 23rd September.
Also, the RTI submission between 20th March and 30th October means that annual-paid Ltd Co Directors are now included.  That is how I understand it.

Yahoo_Mail

Grumpy_chap said:

Except, Rishi today said that it is allowed to re-hire people made redundant after 23rd September.
Also, the RTI submission between 20th March and 30th October means that annual-paid Ltd Co Directors are now included.  That is how I understand it.

But there's several months before September that they could qualify if they didn't need to be on the payroll by the 30th.

Jeremy535897

The latest guidance published today says:
"Employers can claim for employees who were employed and on their PAYE payroll on 30 October 2020. The employer must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between the 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee."

I think your case is unusual, in that not many people will have been on payroll with an RTI submission between 20 March and 30 October, be employed today, but not technically on the payroll on 30 October (although employed on 30 October). You don't fit the extension to rehiring people on payroll at 23 September. I doubt that reinstating your old reference is relevant, as you must have received a P45?

I think the most likely outcome is that you will be able to be furloughed, on your old furlough rate rather than your current rate, but it really is tricky. More guidance is promised on 10 November. See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/extension-to-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme/extension-of-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme