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Employer Refusing to Make Furlough Payments

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My wife's employer is refusing to consider her for furlough payments as she's on a zero hour contract. Their exact words are "At this time we have taken the decision not enter zero hour staff into the furlough scheme as a result of the costs that are associated with the scheme". Despite the admin resource and NI/Pension contributions (which they've have to pay anyway), the 80% of her wages will be full reimbursed by the government (unless I'm mistaken). Considering they paid out furlough payments to her from March to August (when they were required to pay greater contributions), I find this pretty bad form. Anyone in the same situation? Anything that can be done about it?

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  • diggingdude
    diggingdude Posts: 2,492 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Nothing can be done. Company doesn't have to do furlough at all 
    An answer isn't spam just because you don't like it......
  • ceh209
    ceh209 Posts: 877 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    canguro said:
    Despite the admin resource and NI/Pension contributions (which they've have to pay anyway), the 80% of her wages will be full reimbursed by the government (unless I'm mistaken). Considering they paid out furlough payments to her from March to August (when they were required to pay greater contributions), I find this pretty bad form. Anyone in the same situation? Anything that can be done about it?
    No pay = no NI or pension contributions, so no cost to the employer.
    From March to July, the NI and pension were also claimable by the employer. It was only August that this changed and the employer had to pay these themselves.

    And unfortunately for your wife, there is no obligation for the employer to use the scheme at all.
    Excuse any mis-spelt replies, there's probably a cat sat on the keyboard
  • You have totally misunderstood what is/ was reimbursed to employers under the scheme. In the first version there was nil cost to the employer in respect of NI and pension contributions and now there is. This is where your wife learns that having a zero hours contract entitles her to just that - zero - if there is no work available.
  • gary83
    gary83 Posts: 906 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    in addition to everyone else’s points about it being costly & not compulsory it could also potentially get more expensive in January. Buried in the announcement of the extension until March but often overlooked was the line “ The government will review the policy in January to decide whether economic circumstances are improving enough to ask employers to contribute more.”

    Is she on a genuine zero hours contract? I.e. regularly contacted and offered differing hours, or is she on a zero hours contract just in name? I.e. it’s titled zero hours but she’s always worked the same regular hours? Those questions don’t make any difference to her furlough status or entitlement, it could potentially make a difference with her being entitled to wages, or more likely being made redundant if the company can’t afford the cost of furlough.
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