One Alarm Bell: Flexible Furlough – New Treasury Direction
On Friday 26 June 2020, the Government published a third Treasury Direction on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme).
Legal advice for employers during coronavirus
The Edwin Coe LLP Employment team advises both employers and senior executives on a full range of employment and partnership related disputes and non-contentious matters. The team’s clients include large multinationals, start-ups, SMEs, senior executives, accountants and insolvency practitioners.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the team has been focused on responding to the changes and announcements in relation to the Job Retention Scheme as businesses of all sizes furlough staff. The complexities of furlough leave, and how to prepare for any future challenge, are discussed in the below articles and blogs. The team will continue to monitor and report on the situation as it develops.
Latest articles and blogs
Debenhams and administration: Court of Appeal clarification on furloughed employees
On 6 May 2020, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in the case of Re Debenhams Retail Ltd.
Furlough Leave: Changes to the scheme
On 29 May 2020, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced further details of the changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme).
Furlough Leave: New Treasury Direction (22 May 2020)
On 15 April 2020, the Government published a Treasury Direction on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme). This was updated last Friday (22 May 2020) and the full updated Direction can be found here but in summary, these are the major changes and clarifications.
Issues arising out of the UK’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
The UK’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), commonly referred to as the furlough scheme, has been designed and made operational in a matter of weeks with quite a lot of thinking by Government ‘on the hoof’. Thus, the guidance has fallen in a piecemeal fashion, making it challenging for employers to liaise with staff and take appropriate action.
Section 100 bursts into the Boardroom
Those operating in an environment highly regulated by health and safety requirements (construction and the NHS for example) will be familiar with Section 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. For office-based workers however Section 100 is a little known provision which, before the pandemic, rarely came up in practice.
Carluccios and administration: the High Court allows administrators to furlough employees
On 13 April 2020, in the first ruling of its kind, the High Court provided much needed clarity on the application of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) for companies that have entered into administration. The Court expressed a willingness to assist with the policy objectives of saving jobs, and this may be the first in a series of authorities curbing traditional vested interests in favour of collective processes.
Furlough Leave: Update as at 20 April 2020
When we published our blog on 15 April 2020, we stated rather boldly that the issue of the Treasury Direction on 15 April 2020 was likely to the definitive guide on how the Job retention Scheme (JRS) works. Friday’s flurry of updates however disproved that. Further guidance has been issued.
Furlough Leave: Further Information – HMRC Direction (15 April 2020)
The Government has released further guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the JRS), this time in the form of a Direction to HMRC under powers conferred by the Coronavirus Act 2020.
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