Furlough pay issues help needed please

[HR BLAH BLAH]

I am a new member and would really appreciate some help and advice please.*I was furloughed on Friday 23rd March and head of accounts has told me that they have applied on the portal for my wages from this date and including the whole of April. My issue is should they have applied for March for the partial payment and then again for April for the monthly payment as i have been informed that I will not get 5 weeks worth of furlough money as I will only get £2.5k max due to the fact my salary is over £45k a year. Basically I’m worried that I will miss the 8 days of furlough pay for March ? I thought that the £2.5k max Payment is based per month which I fully accept however I am owed x 8 days for the month of March in addition to the calendar month of April ? Surely the £2.5k does not cover partial March and the whole of April wouldn’t these be treated as x 2 separate months ?

[ULA]

The portal was only available from 20th April so no information could be uploaded prior to this time, so your employer will be claiming for the period from when you went on furlough leave until 30 April. What will happen is that they will have to input based on the full month for April and the pro-rate days in March you were on furlough.*

In your March salary did you get your normal pay up to and including the day prior to you being furloughed?

[HR BLAH BLAH]

Hi ula thankyou for your reply. In March I only got paid a short month in salary approx 3 weeks and not a full month because 23rd March we were put on official furlough. So will the HMRC use common sense and see I am owed a full month pay for April max at £2.5k and then separately the 8 days of furlough pay for March ? Per month I will only ever be entitled to £2.5k max because if my £45k salary but the 8 days in March are obviously separate to April pay ?

[ULA]

The fact that went on furlough on 23 March should be taken into account if your employer is completing the questions on the portal correctly and there is no reason for them not to do so.

One of the questions asked is when an employee was put on furlough - 23 March in your case, then it asks about the period start and end date that they are claiming furlough for in this particular claim, so at this stage it is likely they will completed 23 March to 30 April.

There are other questions about payroll dates but those ones i have given are the most relevant to your question.

Depending on when the company put the information on the portal the current timescales for an employer to receive the furlough monies from the claim are approximately 6 working days.*

Hope that helps but if there are any further questions just come back and ask.*

[HR BLAH BLAH]

Hi Ula many thanks for your reply. I am praying that they have completed the portal correctly so I should receive April + 8 days for March furlough pay but the accountant had said they have put it back to 23rd March when they applied but I’d get no more than £2.5k capped for this period. Surely it’s £2.5k capped each calendar month ? What happens if I only get April furlough pay and not the 8 days for March also ? Is that classed as unlawful deduction of wages ? Would the business need to pay me this 8 days out of their own pocket and is there a deadline for this (2 weeks to pay me ?)........thankyou for your advice it’s really appreciated!

[ULA]

The other thing that needs to be taken into account are your pay periods and there are a number of questions around when you were last paid before being put on furlough what your pay period is i.e. calendar month or mid month to mid month and it depends what period they are putting in the claim for.*

I think the best thing to do, although I know it is very worrying, is see what you get paid first and what period it is meant to cover, then if there is an issue you can raise it with your employer.

If that happens then come back to this thread and we can provide some support as to how you do that.*

*

[HR BLAH BLAH]

Hi ula good news I have had the following info emailed to me today......is this all above board and correct in your opinion ? They blamed it on the HMRC saying they had got misinformed ! ...........

Monday 23rd March - Friday 27th March 5 days

Monday 30th March-Tuesday 31st March 2 days

Totalling 7 days @ your day rate of £182.69 = £1278.85 ( 80% payment due to you is £1023.08)

Please note the amount of £1023.08 will not show in April's pay slip it will show in May's

[ULA]

Glad you have had some information.

I agree that there is 7 days in March for the "furlough" formula to apply but the calculation does not seem to have taken account of the fact that there is a max payment per month of 2.5k. Taking the logic through of what has been set out if you had been furloughed for the whole of March then that would pay out more than 2.5k. My understanding is that the calculation for being furloughed part way through the month, if you are at the salary level you are on would be based on the pro-rata of the 2.5k max for the 7 days. If the length of time being claimed for is not one month the company will need to use either the weekly or daily maximum wage amounts to work out the maximum amount it can claim. The max weekly amount is £576.92 and the daily rate for March is £80.65.

It would be worth asking if they ran your details through the HMRC calculator or confirm how they calculated the figure.*
*

[HR BLAH BLAH]

Hi ula ok will do and I really appreciate all of your advice and help........thankyou so much*