Yes, all UK employers are eligible, including charities and not for profit organisations.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme enables all UK employers to apply to the Government to continue paying 80 per cent of their employees' salary costs for those employees who are furloughed (on a leave of absence) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers can also claim the cost of employer national insurance contributions and minimum automatic pension contributions on the subsidised salary. More details on how to calculate this will be published before the scheme is live, estimated to be at the end of April.

Yes, the Government will pay 80 per cent of the salary costs of eligible employees, but only up to a cap of £2,500 per month for each employee. This effectively means that for anyone on a salary above the national median income, the proportion of pay that the Government will contribute will decrease – the higher the salary the lower the percentage contribution. The salary on which to base the calculation is the employee's gross salary as of 28 February, not including any fees, commission or bonuses.

If an employee on variable pay, such as a zero hours or casual employee, has been employed for 12 months, you can claim the higher of: the same month's earning from the previous year, or average monthly earnings from the 2019/2020 tax year. For those who have been employed for less than a year, you can claim for an average of their monthly earnings since they started work.

No, it will not apply to employees who were hired after 28 February 2020 and will not be available for employees who continue to work even if on reduced hours. It only applies to those who are put on leave (furloughed) and who do no work for your organisation (other than unpaid voluntary work and training). The scheme applies to all those on PAYE, including zero-hours and casual employees.

No, the term "lay off" is not the same as redundancy. The two terms are often used interchangeably but have different legal meanings. Where an employee is redundant, their employment is terminated because their employer no longer has a requirement for that particular work, for example where a business or part of it is closing or reducing the amount of work.

Lay off is where an employer has a contractual right to put employees on unpaid leave where there is a temporary cessation of work. During this time employees are still employed and their continuity of service is preserved. Short time working is a variant of lay off, where the employer has the right to reduce employees' hours and pay for a period of time to deal with a reduction in work. Lay off and short-time working clauses giving employers the right are relatively rare and have traditionally been used mostly in industries such as construction and manufacturing. Without such a clause, an employer would need the consent of its employees. Securing such consent is how some employers have dealt with the immediate reduction in work caused by the crisis.

The Government has said that anyone who has been made redundant since 28 February can be taken back on the payroll and entered into the scheme.

Yes. The purpose of the job retention scheme is that employees for whom there is no work should remain in employment while continuing to be paid and remain on payroll. This applies to those who have already been laid off since 28 February (in the sense that they are on a period of unpaid leave), or who may need to be laid off in the future.

No. The Government has stated that to qualify for the scheme, employees should not undertake work while they are furloughed. This means that if employees are still doing work, even if it is less than normal and for less pay, they do not qualify.

Furlough can apply to employees on sick leave or who are self-isolating once such leave has ended. The guidance states that those employees should get statutory sick pay but that they can be furloughed after this. Those employees who are self-isolating in line with public health guidance, because they themselves are vulnerable, can be put on furlough.

Employees on statutory family leave will continue to receive their statutory payments the normal way (for example statutory maternity pay at 90 % of salary for the first six weeks of leave, followed by 33 weeks at the statutory flat rate). If you offer enhanced contractual pay for maternity and other forms of statutory family leave, this can be claimed through the scheme as wage costs. It is not clear whether they will be treated as furloughed in the same way as other employees – it is likely that they will be treated as still on statutory family leave, with the various rights that that entails, but employers can claim a grant in relation to 80% of any enhanced contractual pay.

To access the scheme, you will need to:

• • designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify the employees of this change in writing. Consent of employees is not a requirement for access to the scheme but you will have to seek employees' agreement to reducing their pay under their employment contract, unless you choose to top up (see below),
• • submit information about the employees to HMRC through a new online portal (which is yet to be set up by HMRC). This will include your ePAYE reference number, number of employees furloughed and the period for which you claim, along with a calculation of the amount.

The system is not yet set up but HMRC have said it should be ready to issue reimbursement in the next few weeks and by the end of April at the latest. Payments will be backdated to 1 March 2020.

For as long as the scheme remains in place and your employees are not working. The Government has stated that the scheme will run for at least 3 months from 1 March, but that it can be extended if necessary. You cannot furlough employees for less than three weeks.

No. The employer can choose to fund the difference but does not have to.

It depends. The Government has said that this change in status is subject to existing employment law and the individual's employment contract. If there is already a contractual right for the employer to lay off, the employee is not entitled to refuse (in any event, being designated a furloughed worker and paid at least part of salary under the scheme is more beneficial for the employee than traditional unpaid lay off). Most employers will not, however, have lay off clauses in their contracts. If so, designating someone under the scheme and reducing their pay involves a change to their contract and so would need to be agreed. Where the alternative is redundancy such agreement may be more likely to be forthcoming. For those who have already been made redundant, they would have to consent to being re-employed and brought back on payroll. If you intend to top up pay to full pay, it should be sufficient to notify employees of the situation and that you are asking them to be furloughed on full pay, they do not have to give consent.

No, it is for the employer to designate. It is not clear what process employers will need to follow when designating/selecting employees for the leave, and whether there needs to be some form of selection similar to a redundancy exercise, though it is unlikely that anything as formal as that would be required. In any event, care should always be taken to ensure any process does not discriminate against those with protected characteristics – equality and discrimination laws will still apply.

Yes. The guidance states that employees on furlough have the same rights as previously, so this would include holiday accrual. Though not specifically mentioned, it is likely that you would be able to require your employees to take accrued holiday during the furlough leave in the usual way.

No. This means that even if an employee's reduced salary would fall below the NMW you would not have to top up their pay. However, if they are undertaking training during the leave then you would need to ensure that NMW is paid for the time spent on the training.

Yes, employers must pay SSP to employees who are unable to work because of illness.  This includes employees who are off sick due to COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms, such as a persistent cough or fever.

Employees who self-isolate but who are not ill would not previously have qualified for SSP – however, the Government has introduced new rules which mean that employees who are self-isolating to prevent the spread of COVID-19 will be entitled to SSP if they "by reason of that isolation, are unable to work".  This includes employees self-isolating because someone in their household has COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms; or they have been told to self-isolate by a doctor or NHS 111.

This advice is published under the Government’s ‘stay at home’ guidance and is available on gov.uk website.

If the employee is not unwell but self-isolating due to Government guidance and able to work remotely, they will not be entitled to SSP but their usual pay.

SSP relating to COVID-19 is payable from the first day of incapacity. This will have retrospective effect from 13 March 2020, meaning some employees will be entitled to have their sick pay back-dated. 

Employees can self-certify their sickness or self-isolation absence for the first seven days off work in the usual way. After seven days' employers may ask for reasonable evidence of incapacity from the employee. 

On 20 March 2020, the Government announced a new online isolation note service which the employee can access on the NHS website and NHS 111 online.  They can then use the note received to send to their employer as evidence.

Company sick pay is only payable to employees if the employer has a company sick pay policy and gives its employees sick pay over and above the SSP amount.  Whether company sick pay is due to self-isolating employees will depend on the policy.  Some policies will be linked to SSP and the same rules will apply. However, others may require the employee to actually be unwell to receive enhanced pay – no doubt never envisaging a situation like the one we have now.  Employers should be as flexible as they can, particularly if there is otherwise a risk that employees will come into work putting themselves and others at risk.

Employers with fewer than 250 employees will be able to reclaim SSP paid in respect of the first 14 days of COVID-19 related sickness absence per employee under new legislation.  This will have retrospective effect from 13 March 2020.

An employer will usually have to keep paying their employees full pay if they decide to close the office or tell staff not to come into work.  For those who can work from home this should not pose a problem, but as a general rule, even if employees are unable to work remotely but are willing and able to work, they should still be paid their normal pay (unless there is a right to lay off, see section on "Is lay off and redundancy the same thing?"). Depending on the circumstances, the employer may be able to take advantage of the new job retention scheme (see first section on "Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme")

Yes, if the employee is trapped abroad because of work related travel, it is best practice to continue paying the employee full pay.

Under new regulations, there are powers to compulsorily detain people for testing and isolation and to place restrictions on travel.  If an employee was quarantined under the regulations, it would illegal for them to come into work.  This means that they would not be regarded as “able” to work and they would not have an implied right to receive their pay (providing they could not work remotely from quarantine). It is likely that in such a case, the employee would qualify for SSP. 

Yes, providing they are not sick. Employers can ask employees to take holiday at a particular time, provided they give sufficient notice. Unless this is specifically dealt with in the contract, it should be at least double the amount of holiday leave the employee is asked to take.

Employees who are on sick leave (including those who are at home due to self-isolation) cannot be compelled to take their holiday allowance.  However, they can ask to take their holiday allowance if they choose to.

Yes, an employee can choose to take holiday during a period when they would otherwise be receiving SSP, but cannot be compelled to do so.  Holiday pay should be paid for any period allocated as holiday, rather than sick pay. 

When an employee has to cancel their holiday plans and wants to retract their request to take the holiday another time, the employer can choose whether to allow them to do so. Many employers prefer for employees to take as much of their holiday as possible during the crisis when there is a reduction in work and would have the right to refuse a request to cancel the holiday,

If an employee has to cancel their holiday because they are sick, or because they have been advised to self-isolate, the position is different. In such a case, the employee has the right to postpone the holiday.

With schools closed for an indefinite period to all children except those of key workers, many parents will have no choice but to look after them at home. While normally, you would not have to permit homeworking for parents providing childcare, in these extraordinary circumstances employers may have to be more flexible. In any event, requiring employees to come into work unless necessary would be contrary to current Government advice on social distancing. Discussing with the employee whether some work can be done outside core hours, for example in the evening after children's bedtime, and/or carried out in shorter bursts throughout the day may be a solution.

If an employee is self-isolating but is not unwell then if they are able to work from home you can require them to do so. If their job is not suited to homeworking then employees who are self-isolating as a result of Government advice will be entitled to SSP (and any contractual sick pay that may be payable).

Yes, but it is important to note that the government (specifically the Home Office) generally require all Tier 2 and 5 Sponsors to report any change of work location for sponsored employees via the Sponsor Management System (SMS). This report should be filed within 10 working days. Failing to report the change in work location may expose your business to a sponsorship compliance breach.

Employers are still encouraged to report via the SMS – even where sponsored employees' contracts allow for homeworking – as this will be considered good practice by the Home Office. However, if this represents a significant task (i.e. your business has 20 or more sponsored employees) then the Government will allow a pragmatic and reasonable approach. For example, you may update the HR records of sponsored employees with a note of their home address; the date the employee began working from home, and an explanation that this was required due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Employers should check the employment contract and their workplace policies.  The employment contract may provide for a contractual right to paid time off in certain circumstances. In the absence of a contractual right to paid time off, there is no statutory right to paid time off to look after dependents, but unpaid leave is available (see below).

Employees have a statutory right to a reasonable amount of unpaid leave in order to manage emergency situations involving their dependents.  This would include situations where an employee has to care for a family member who has COVID-19, or to look after their children because of school closures. Unless their employment contract provides otherwise, the right is only to "reasonable" time off and the employee is expected to arrange for alternative care if possible so this right is limited.  Employees with children may also be entitled to unpaid parental leave in certain circumstances, which can provide for longer periods of leave. With either type of leave, employers are encouraged to be more flexible than they would perhaps be in normal circumstances. 

The Government has published guidance on ‘social distancing’, which advises for everyone to practice social distancing but for those who are at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 to be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures, including avoiding public transport and remaining at home if possible.  This vulnerable group includes those who are over the age of 70 or under 70 with an underlying health condition, including those who are pregnant or those who have a chronic long term respiratory disease or a weakened immune system.

Employers should allow any employees who fall into the high-risk groups to work from home if possible.

It is clear that those employees who are required to self-isolate and are unable to work will qualify for SSP.   The Government’s advice on social distancing does not currently go as far as to recommend full self-isolation.  Technically, SSP does not extend to vulnerable employees who are social distancing.  However, we expect that the rules on self-isolation, and therefore SSP, will be interpreted to capture vulnerable employees.

Employers have health and safety obligations to all employees, including those who are particularly at risk.  Vulnerable employees should be allowed to work from home if at all possible.

Yes, pregnant employees should work from home wherever possible.

If a pregnant employee cannot do their role remotely, employers should assess whether there is suitable alternative work available which the employee could do from home on a temporary basis.  If no such alternative work is available, the employer should consider suspending the employee on medical grounds on full pay for as long as necessary.  Maternity leave will be triggered if the period of suspension continues into the fourth week before the expected week of childbirth.

If a new joiner is not needed at the current time, you may decide to defer the start date. If a specific start date has already been confirmed in the contract then the change should be agreed with the employee.

If a job offer has been made but not accepted, the employer can normally change it unilaterally or withdraw the offer altogether without obligation, provided this is communicated before the individual purports to accept it. However, if the employee has accepted the offer a contract will usually have been formed and so if the employee does not agree to defer the start date, or if the business decides to dispense with the role completely, it needs to terminate the contract. In most circumstances, this can be done by paying the notice under the contract.

Pay rises are rarely contractual and even if notified, unless a pay rise has already been agreed, deferring it should be straightforward. Most bonus schemes are discretionary and the clauses governing such schemes normally give the employer absolute discretion both over the amount of bonuses and whether they are paid at all. Even contractual schemes may contain provision for the employer to terminate or amend the scheme so it is worth checking the wording. Where payments are contractual then reducing or deferring will need to be agreed with the employee.

Unless there is a lay off clause in the employment contract (and such clauses are rare, see section on "Is lay off and redundancy the same thing?"), an employee can't be forced to take unpaid leave. Such a measure must therefore be agreed with your employees. Under the new retention scheme, if an employer can't afford to retain staff, a better option would be to designate such employees as "furloughed" so that the employer can get reimbursed up to 80 per cent of their salary costs (up to a cap of £2,500 per employee per month). For further detail on furloughed leave see first section on "Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme".

Again, it is unlikely that your employment contracts contain a right to do this, and so these changes have to be agreed with employees. Some may be willing to agree, particularly if the change is not significant (a four day week for example) and/or is agreed for a short period of time. Others may be reluctant or simply unable to agree because of their personal circumstances. In order to force through a contract change, you would need to consult with employees and, if there is still no agreement, dismiss and offer re-engagement on the new terms. You would need to show sound business reasons for pushing through a change of terms (for most, the current crisis will be the reason) and pay notice. It is not clear if the job retention scheme (see first section on "Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme") may then apply at this point – if so, consideration will need to be given as to how to deal with those employees who have agreed to continue working for less, while some of their colleagues receives pay, perhaps even a similar amount, for being on leave.

If you are proposing that 20 or more employees could be dismissed as a result of this process, then you will also need to go through collective consultation with specially elected employee representatives (or the union or an appropriate representative staff body if there is one)  for at least 30 or 45 days depending on the numbers. It may be possible to argue that this period can be reduced or dispensed with because of the extreme circumstances businesses are facing - this so called "special circumstances" defence has in the past been extremely difficult to rely on so this may be a risky strategy however.

Employees with more than two years' service have the right not to be unfairly dismissed. To ensure a fair dismissal for a genuine redundancy, e.g. where there is a cessation or diminution in a certain type of work, an employer will first have to consult with employees at risk, and apply a fair selection process based on objective criteria. Redundancies shouldn't be confirmed until consultation has taken place and once confirmed, all employees should be given their contractual notice (or payment in lieu of notice) together with a statutory redundancy payment (for those with more than two years' service).

Where you are proposing to make more than 20 employees redundant then you should also conduct collective consultation with elected representatives of the employees, for at least 30 or 45 days depending on the numbers (see [If we need to reduce the hours for a large number of people, is the process the same?]).  

Although we are not yet at a point of a complete UK lockdown, some businesses have already been ordered to close and it is possible that others will follow. Some employers may be able to continue to operate with staff working from home (see section on "Homeworking"). If that is not possible and you would otherwise have to make employees redundant or agree a period of unpaid leave, you can apply to the coronavirus job retention scheme (see first section on CoronaVirus Job Retention Scheme) which will pay 80 per cent of each employee's salary costs (up to £2,500 per month) while they are not working.

Some pubs, restaurants and cafes which have had to close down have switched to offering take away food. This could involve some employees carrying out different duties. If you need to ask employees to carry out work that is not within their usual job description or what the employment contract permits, you may have to seek their agreement. However, in the circumstances, it is unlikely that employees will refuse if it means the business can keep running and they continue to be paid. (See "We still need our staff to do some work, can we reduce their hours and pay?")

The Government guidance on this point is not particularly clear. At the time of writing, the Government advice is that, save for key workers, people should only travel to and from work where "absolutely necessary".

It is not clear what "absolutely necessary" means, but it appears that the advice is that people should only go to work in circumstances where they cannot do their work from home. Currently, it seems therefore that employers can require their employees to come to work, but only if they are unable to work from home. Employers should ensure that employees can adhere to social distancing guidelines as much as possible to reduce the risk of the spread of the virus. This can include measures such as allowing staff to travel at quieter times, paying for parking so staff can drive to work and ensuring social distancing of at least two metres (6ft). In some industries this poses particular problems and the government may provide further guidance in the coming days, with the possibility of a total shutdown on all work, save for key workers, looming.

Currently, with the exception of some forms of statutory leave, an employer is required to stop sponsoring an employee if they are absent from work without pay for 4 calendar weeks in a year or more. So placing a sponsored employee on a layoff totalling 4 weeks would not be permissible. Right now, a better option may be to designate such employees as "furloughed" if they otherwise qualify, and subject to any further guidance on this that is still awaited. See first section on CV retention scheme.

However, it is possible that the government may relax the rules on unpaid leave for sponsored employees in light of the current situation.

Yes, but any reduction in salary must not be below the appropriate rate detailed within the Immigration Rules, and it should be reported to the Home Office. The 'appropriate rate' will depend on the specific role of a sponsored employee. It is worth mentioning that there are some limited exceptions to this, however if a sponsored employees salary package is cut to below the appropriate rate, then you will have to stop sponsoring them.

Right now, a sensible option would be to review the appropriate rate for each of your sponsored employees, and then formulate what, if any, permissible salary reductions could be made.

Yes, the Government has not advised of any specific relaxation of RTW guidance including the temporary acceptance of photocopies of the required documents to obtain a statutory excuse against a Civil Penalty for Illegal Working.

Until the Government update their position in light of COVID-19, we recommend employers consider using the UKVI Online Right To Work Service to verify the immigration status of a new employee and combine this with a video link to assess if the individual in question is the same person on the photograph as on the online RTW service.  

The link to the UKVI online check is here.

The Government have announced some concessions specifically for Chinese nationals (and non-Chinese nationals that normally live in China) who are currently in the UK, that will allow them to remain here if their current visa is due to expire before 31 March. If you have employees that might be affected, then they will get an automatic extension of their visa, without having to file a new visa application.

It is possible that the government may widen this concession to include other nations of other non-EEA countries that cannot return home due to coronavirus, but this situation remains fluid.