Furlough Relative Paid Incorrectly?

sonofmerton

One of my relatives has been on the 80% furlough scheme. Over a month ago she was called back to work flexible hours on an as needed basis ie 2 hours here and there or even days at a time (whilst still getting the 80% from the Government). She got her wages this month and they only paid them a token amount of under 20 quid extra on top of the 80%

Most of her colleagues are on furlough, they get 80% of their wages for sitting indoors, yet my relative drives in each time, does hours and hours working and all they get is an extra 17 quid for their efforts on top of the 80%. I don't know exactly how many hours they were called in but i'd guess around 80-100 hours for the month. 

Anyone have any ideas if the employer is taking the beep.....?  

kaMelo

You don't quote exact figures so it's difficult to say exactly however the rules are clear.
They should be paid 100% of their wages for hours worked and 80% for hours furloughed.

Jeremy535897

You don't have enough information. For example, some employees agreed to a reduction in pay to 80% of original wage, so the furlough amount would be the same as the working amount. She is fortunate in the sense that presumably her job is more secure than that of her fully furloughed colleagues.

sonofmerton

Thanks to you both, I don't know the ins and outs of their wages but will pass this on. 

Grumpy_chap

There are some unknowns in the OP's post and some inconsistencies, but here is a way the result could be only £20 more in the month for working some hours than full-time furlough:

40 hours per week, 4 weeks per month = 160 hours full time.
Normal pay £10 per hour = £1,600 per month
Furlough pay = £8 per hour = £1,280 per month

Work 10 hours at £10 per hour = £100
Furlough 150 hours at £8 per hour = £1,200
Total for flexi-furlough month = £1,300 which is £20 more than not working at all.

As Jeremy said, jobs are probably more secure for those that are first to be called back than those remaining on full time furlough.  In the fairly near future, furlough will cease to exist so everyone has to be back at work and paid or not working and (presumably) not paid.

Jeremy535897

Grumpy_chap said:

There are some unknowns in the OP's post and some inconsistencies, but here is a way the result could be only £20 more in the month for working some hours than full-time furlough:

40 hours per week, 4 weeks per month = 160 hours full time.
Normal pay £10 per hour = £1,600 per month
Furlough pay = £8 per hour = £1,280 per month

Work 10 hours at £10 per hour = £100
Furlough 150 hours at £8 per hour = £1,200
Total for flexi-furlough month = £1,300 which is £20 more than not working at all.

As Jeremy said, jobs are probably more secure for those that are first to be called back than those remaining on full time furlough.  In the fairly near future, furlough will cease to exist so everyone has to be back at work and paid or not working and (presumably) not paid.

I suspect that is not the issue, as OP said:

I don't know exactly how many hours they were called in but i'd guess around 80-100 hours for the month. 

Flexi furlough works in very strange ways sometimes, particularly if there has been a change in hours worked, or the hours worked always varied.

Grumpy_chap

I agree, Jeremy.  Unfortunately the OP seems very vague and contradictory as to how many hours were worked.  I simply tried to give one scenario where working *some* hours could result in only a small uplift of pay compared to being on full furlough.

Jeremy535897

The fact that there are quite often cases where very little extra comes from working is an inevitable outcome of the way furlough works, particularly as employers were able to reduce wages (with employees' agreement) to the same level as furlough. Inevitably people will compare their own situation with others in the same organisation who appear to be treated more favourably, but the bottom line is that if your employer wants you to work, you have to work. Out of all the questions that have arisen on apparent underpayments like this, I don't think many arose from employers getting it wrong, but it is always worth checking. Unfortunately that is by no means easy to do:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/calculate-how-much-you-can-claim-using-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme