LIFE'S A BEACH
Martin Lewis says STOP ‘furlough shaming’ people having fun at park or beach
A FINANCIAL expert has called for people to stop “furlough shaming” others who are having fun at a park or beach.
Martin Lewis, who runs Money Saving Expert, has said people should not be called out for having fun while on the government scheme to help workers.
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In the past people have taken to social media to expose others who appear to them to be “flouting furlough” by spending time relaxing during the coronavirus outbreak.
However, Mr Lewis said he believed relaxing was “the right thing to do” with their spare time and people should not be shamed for having fun.
He described it as a “dangerous trend” which needed to be stopped, adding it was down to employers to choose who got furloughed and that staff on the scheme were not allowed to do any work during that time.
He told BBC Five Live: "I've been hearing people and reading on social media... people saying things like 'people are flouting the furlough scheme by being on parks or at the beach or treating it as a holiday.
"I just want to make something plain to everyone of that perspective.
“It is an employer who decides whether people are furloughed or not. And until the first of July part of furlough means you are not allowed to work while on furlough."
He added: "If people are saying people going to parks or beaches or treating it as a holiday are flouting the scheme, that seems to imply that people should be sitting at home cocooning themselves in misery while on furlough.
It is not flouting the furlough scheme to be sitting in a park, to be reading a book, to be taking time off, it is actually the definition of the rules of the furlough scheme which says you cannot work
Martin Lewis
“I would argue differently... it is not flouting the furlough scheme to be sitting in a park, to be reading a book, to be taking time off, it is actually the definition of the rules of the furlough scheme which says you cannot work."
The Treasury today said that new parents would be able to benefit from an increased time to apply for the furlough scheme.
The scheme has been extended until October with extra contributions from employers being introduced.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "When I announced these changes to the furlough scheme last month, I was clear that we wanted to do this in a fair way, that supports people back to work as the country begins to reopen following coronavirus.
"But for parents returning from leave, their circumstances have meant that they are still in need of support, and I'm pleased that they will be able to receive the financial assistance they and their family will need."
What is furlough?
THE aim of the government’s job retention scheme is to save one million workers from becoming unemployed due to the lockdown.
Under the scheme, the government will pay 80 per cent – up to £2,500 a month – of wages of an employee who can’t work because of the impact of coronavirus.
Workers will be kept on the payroll rather than being laid off.
The government will pay the associated employer national insurance contributions and minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on top.
The scheme has been extended to run until the end of September (although businesses will be asked to chip in from August) and can be backdated to March 1 2020.
It’s available to all employees that started a PAYE payroll scheme on or before March 1, 2020.
If you’re between jobs, have started at a new place of work or were made redundant after this date then you can ask your former employer to rehire you to be eligible for the scheme.
Employers can choose to top up furloughed workers’ salaries by the remaining 20 per cent but they don’t have to.
Firms who want to access the scheme will need to speak to their employees before putting them on furlough.
While on furlough, staff should not undertake any work for their employer during the scheme.
So far the furlough scheme has cost the taxpayer £90billion in less than three months.
Some 11.5m Britons – a third of the workforce - are having their wages propped up by the state's furlough and self-employed subsidy schemes, according to new Treasury figures.
At present, the furlough scheme sees the government pay 80 per cent of the wages, capped at £2,500 a month, of employees who are currently unable to work.
From August, employers will have to start stumping up some of the costs of furloughed workers, starting with paying National Insurance and pension contributions.
Can I be made redundant if I'm on furlough?
EVEN though furlough is designed to keep workers employed, unfortunately it doesn't protect you from being made redundant.
But it doesn't affect your redundancy pay rights if you are let go from your job amid the coronavirus crisis.
Your employer should still carry out a fair redundancy process.
You will be entitled to be consulted on the redundancy lay-off first and to receive a statutory redundancy payment, as long as you've been working somewhere for at least two years.
How much you're entitled to depends on your age and length of service, although this is capped at 20 years. You'll get:
- Half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22,
- One week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41,
- One and half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older.
Sadly, you won't be entitled to a payout if you've been working for your employer for fewer than two years.
There should be a period of collective consultation as well as time for individual ones if your employer wants to make 20 or more employees redundant within 90 days or each other.
You are also entitled to appeal the decision by claiming unfair dismissal within three months of being let go.
If you're made redundant after your company has gone into administration you can claim redundancy pay .
Then from September, businesses who continue to furlough employees will have to stump up 10 per cent of their wages, and 20 per cent in October.
A staggering 70 per cent of companies have furloughed thousands of staff in the last few weeks, including big-name firms such as Primark, John Lewis and Next.
Earlier today Mr Lewis warned hundreds of thousands of workers face redundancy from furloughed jobs.
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Changes to the furlough scheme in August that require employers to start contributing towards costs could see redundancies begin to be announced.
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He said in his weekly newsletter: "This means redundancy is likely by then for those in roles employers don't consider viable after October, when furlough ends.
"As redundancy can require a 45-day consultation period, that means many will soon get letters. I suspect this will impact 100,000s or even millions."
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Chancellor Rishi Sunak explains the levels of contributions employers will make to govt's coronavirus furlough scheme
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