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How will normal salary be calculated for those with no normal working hours, such as zero hours workers?

For those with variable pay, if the employee has been employed for a full 12 months before the period claimed for you, can take the higher of:

  • The same month’s earnings in the previous year; or
  • Average monthly earnings from the 2019/20 tax year.

For those who have been employed for less than one year you can use the average of their monthly earnings since they began their employment until the date they were furloughed.

If they have been employed for less than a month, work out a pro rata for their earnings so far, and claim for 80%.

Related FAQs

What suggestions do you have to raise the profile of the MHFA group in an organisation, particularly with agile working?

Details of your MHFAs should be posted somewhere that everyone can access easily – a specific area on an intranet or whatever alternative exists. Regular comms involving the MHFAs, webinar sessions, Q&A sessions and mental wellbeing drop in sessions are all ideas that may work well.

Do employers still have to enrol and reenrol employees?
  • Yes, and this includes furloughed employees under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
  • Employers must continue to assess their new employees or newly eligible existing employees and enrol them where required, but can make use of the statutory postponement procedure which allows them to delay for up to three months the assessment of new employees for the purpose of enrolment (see further details here on the Pensions Regulator’s website). Declarations of compliance for new employers must still be completed in the normal way.
  • Postponement cannot be used for re-enrolment. The Regulator recommends employers use the re-enrolment date tool on the Regulator’s website to choose a date up to three months after the third anniversary of enrolment to assess staff for re-enrolment. Further information about employers’ obligations about reenrolment from the Pensions Regulator can be found here. Re-declarations of compliance for new employers must still be completed in the normal way.
Can employees who are self-isolating or on sick leave be placed on Flexible Furlough?

Employers had the ability to furlough extremely vulnerable employees who needed to shield.

If your employee is on sick leave or self-isolating as a result of Coronavirus, including as a result of track and trace, they’ll be able to get Statutory Sick Pay, subject to other eligibility conditions applying.

There is no special exemption for them, so they would need to meet the usual requirements to be placed on Flexible Furlough after 1 July 2020. i.e. They had to have been placed on furlough for at least 3 weeks before 1 July. Otherwise, they could not be furloughed.

What impact does the Regulations have in respect of matters which arise from Fire Safety Audits - e.g. if balconies with wooden/decking elements are now considered higher risk and whether that would fall to developer to remedy the materials used to construct balconies?
The duty would fall on the owner of the building to control the hazards presented by balconies made from combustible materials. There may be scope (via warranties/indemnities or other terms) arising from the contract between the developer and owner for the owner to seek to recover the cost of remedial works.
What can I do as an employer if employees are known to be breaking the local lockdown rules?

This will depend on the particular facts and the employee’s circumstances but an employee should co-operate with the employer so far as is necessary to enable compliance with any statutory duty or requirement relating to health and safety.

In addition, conduct outside of work can result in an employee’s dismissal if the conduct pertains to the employment relationship. If an employee breaches their lockdown rules and it affects their ability to work, such as it being no longer safe for them to attend work, or the reputation of the employer, these may be grounds for disciplinary action and subsequent dismissal.