Furlough pay not being dealt with properly?

[lisadp1970]

Hello, I hope someone can offer some help regarding furlough pay.

 

My sons girlfriend, who's 17, was working part time (zero hours contract) in a well known sandwich shop from October last year and was put on furlough pay when lockdown started.

She didn't receive anything in writing as to how much furlough she would receive but for the first 2 months she got £149 which was 80% of her average earnings.

 

In June she worked just for 3 hours and for that month her furlough went down to £75, again she didn't get anything in writing regarding this change. The company have offered her no further hours, but have employed family members since to work in the shop.

She received £75 furlough for the months July and August but nothing for September, again nothing in writing or even a phone call to notify her of this.

 

Her payslips are also sent to her around a week after she's paid, or not sent at all.

 

She has questioned her boss who claims he doesn't have to pay her furlough if he doesn't want to, but as she's received no notification of this or offer of returning to her work, feels this is being handled totally wrong.

 

I've advised her to raise a grievance, but not sure whether to take it one step further and report this to HMRC to investigate as something seems very dodgy.

 

Any thoughts or advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[citizenB]

https://www.accountancydaily.co/five-things-you-need-know-furlough-and-zero-hours-workers

 

The link above is more for Employers, however, it looks to me as though they should have received her permission to furlough her and put this in writing and her furloughed payments should be based on the previous year's earnings for whichever month she is being paid.   You might want to wait for more experienced advice and/or contact HMRC to obtain further information. 

 

2. Do I need to get a zero hours worker’s permission to furlough them?
Yes, it is best to discuss your decision with your worker first and make sure you have their agreement before you put them on a period of furlough.

You should also make sure that you put this decision in writing and make it clear that their furlough status is only temporary.

 

3. All eligible workers are entitled to 80% of their wage as part of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS). How is that calculated for zero hours workers?
Good question.

If your worker’s pay varies because they are on a zero hours contract, then the 80% limit will be based on the same month’s earning from a previous year, or their average monthly pay during the 2019-20 tax year - whichever is highest.

[lisadp1970]

Thank you that's very helpful.

She had nothing discussed with her and has never received anything in writing, also just found out she wasn't even given any kind of employment terms and conditions or company handbook when she started,  so the whole set up needs investigating 

[Will Goodfellow]

Give ACAS a call - https://www.acas.org.uk/

[honeybee13]

Sadly ACAS aren't what they were and hve a lot of call centre operatives reading from scripts. They may have the right answer somewhere but it's worth double-checking what they say.

 

HB