Updated Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Guidance – 1 May 2020
The government issued not one but two updates to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme) guidance last week. Our previous review of the updates to the guidance issued on 23 and 30 April can be found here.
The updated guidance includes a new section on Maternity Allowance. It provides that if an employee is in receipt of maternity allowance whilst they are on maternity leave then they should not also be in receipt of furlough pay at the same time. Therefore, if an employee on maternity leave has agreed to be furloughed, they will need to contact the JobCentre Plus to stop their maternity leave payments.
In a new requirement, if an employee on maternity leave agrees to be furloughed and ends their maternity leave early, they will need to give their employer at least 8 weeks’ notice. They will not be eligible for furlough pay until the end of the 8 weeks. Previously, it had been thought that employers may be able to waive the 8 weeks’ notice requirement. It is unclear why this requirement has been added when there are only 8 weeks of the Scheme left (at the time of writing), although we note that the Chancellor is coming under pressure to extend the Scheme again.
The updated guidance also includes new links to help and support pages for businesses affected by coronavirus see here.
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Rebecca Butler is an employment managing associate of counsel
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