What are my rights if I’m on furlough ?

The furlough scheme, where employers have paid a large proportion of an employee’s wage, finishes at the end of this month.

It will be replaced a new Job Support Scheme from next month but there are real fears that many of those currently on furlough - there are 6,500 in this position across the Melton borough - may not be taken back on.

So we have been speaking to Harby human resources expert, Sue West, to find out what rights furloughed workers have. This is what she had to say:

Q1 IF SOMEONE IS ON FURLOUGH AND IS WORRIED ABOUT LOSING THEIR JOB IS AN EMPLOYER WITHIN THEIR RIGHTS JUST TO MAKE THAT PERSON REDUNDANT?

Sue West: The law says that an employee can be fairly dismissed for redundancy. However, for there to be a redundancy, the situation at work must fit a particular definition. Either the employer is closing their business completely, closing a site of their business or has a need to reduce their headcount for ‘work of a particular kind’.

An example of this would be reducing the number of shop assistants required due to reduced footfall. Once a potential redundancy position has been established, an employer must follow a fair procedure before dismissing by reason of redundancy – and a key step in the process is consultation. Consultation is based on the principle that an employee has the right to have a say in decisions affecting their job and until consultation is complete, an employee is only ‘at risk’ of being made redundant.

Employers should be open to hearing ideas from at risk employees that may avoid the need for redundancies. A failure to genuinely consult could lead to an unfair dismissal claim.

There are other aspects which make a redundancy process fair (or not), including a fair selection procedure. A great website to guide both employers and employees is www.acas.org.uk/redundancy

Q2 WHAT KIND OF REDUNDANCY PAY-OFF IS AN EMPLOYEE ENTITLED TO IF THEY ARE NOT TAKEN ON AFTER FURLOUGH ENDS?

SW: An employee who is made redundant will be entitled to Statutory Redundancy Pay (SRP) if they have two or more years’ continuous service with their employer. This is a payment based on their age, length of service and weekly pay.

There is a useful calculator on www.gov.uk/calculate-your-redundancy-pay.

Some companies may offer an enhanced scheme beyond the statutory provision, although these are not common.

Q3 DOES A FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEE HAVE A RIGHT OF APPEAL IF THEY ARE MADE REDUNDANT WHEN THE SCHEME ENDS?

SW: No, there is no statutory right to appeal if an employee is made redundant. This is possibly because redundancy decisions often also affect the rest of the workforce – some will stay, some will go, and unravelling redundancy decisions in these circumstances could be very difficult. Some employers do offer an appeal on a voluntary basis, and sometimes this can be useful to resolve disputes internally before they escalate to a legal process.

Q4 WOULD YOU ADVISE FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES TO LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT IN THE WEEKS BEFORE FURLOUGH ENDS IN THE EVENT THEY ARE MADE REDUNDANT?

SW: Furloughed employees will know the nature of the organisations in which they are employed and whether demand for employees will be there from the beginning of November. Some employers are communicating well with their furloughed workers and keeping them up to date, but if the workers are not sure of the outlook, they can always ask their employer whether they are anticipating redundancies so they can prepare themselves.

It is widely anticipated that we will see a spike in redundancies at the end of October when the furlough scheme ends, in which case the job market may well be more flooded with people than it is now, so if furloughed employees suspect redundancy may be in the pipeline it may be prudent to be looking at the jobs market now. If an employee resigns before being made redundant they will not be eligible for any redundancy pay.

Q5 WHAT WOULD YOU ADVISE FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES TO DO WHILE THEY ARE OFF WORK, IN TERMS OF IMPROVING THEIR CV FOR ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT IF THEY ARE MADE REDUNDANT?

SW: Firstly, keep in touch with your employer. Show that you are ready and willing to return to work if you are able, or at least keep the lines of communication open. Whilst furloughed, a worker can still undertake training, so they can agree a plan with their employer to train, re-train or just be up to date for when they do return to work.

There may not necessarily be a cost implication to this; there’s a huge range of free podcasts, webinars, blogs, YouTube videos (eg Ted Talks) and e-learning that can be utilised and undertaking voluntary work can also develop skills. These free options would also be a good idea to help prepare for job seeking too should redundancy be a possibility.

If people are applying for jobs, they will be competing against lots of other people in the same position so they will need to stand out. Employers will be looking for candidates that have tailored their application to the advertised vacancy, so it pays to put the time into demonstrating how you can meet the role criteria and make it easy for those making selection decisions to see these in your application.

When preparing for interviews, think of recent experiences which demonstrate the skills and qualities the employer is looking for; you’ll be sure to be asked for these examples.

l Sue West runs West Human Resources Consultancy, which offers small and medium-sized businesses support with employment issues.

Go online at www.westhr.co.uk to find out more about her business.