Furlough scheme - further changes announced

The Government continues to make further changes to the extended furlough scheme including some detail changes announced over the weekend. Most of these changes are in the detail and can be found via the updated link below. However one key change which applies from 1 December 2020 has been announced.

Employers will not be able to claim for any days on or after 1 December 2020 during which the furloughed employee was serving a contractual or statutory notice period for the employer (this includes people serving notice of retirement or resignation). If an employee subsequently starts a contractual or statutory notice period on a day covered by a previously submitted claim, the claim for that period will need to be adjusted.

This represents a significant change from the scheme as it currently stands where no such requirement exists. Employers will therefore need to ensure for any claims covering periods on or after 1 December that the claim does not include any employees who are working their notice - although they will still be able to claim for those employees for days furloughed up to and including 30 November.