FURLOUGH LEAVE AGREEMENT
1. MISCELLANEOUS AND DEFINITIONS
a) This agreement is a variation to your contract of employment, designed to implement and take advantage of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme).
b) Furlough Leave is a period of leave agreed between the Company and you, enabling the Company to apply for financial assistance from the Government under the Scheme.
c) The Company considers you meet the qualifying conditions for the scheme, as published by the Government on 26 March 2020. As such, the Company is asking you to agree to be placed on Furlough Leave.
d) You confirm that you have read the Furlough Agreement Information Sheet provided to you by us and you are entering into this agreement of your own free will.
2. TERMS OF FURLOUGH LEAVE
a) We agree that with effect from DATE you shall be treated as being on Furlough Leave.
b) During your period of Furlough Leave:
• you shall not carry out any work for the Company, save for any education/training that you agree to undertake;
• we shall pay you and provide you with benefits in accordance with clause 3 of this agreement and your normal entitlement to pay and benefits under your employment contract will be suspended;
• all other terms and conditions of your employment contract will remain in effect.
3. REQUIRED REMUNERATION/BENEFITS DURING FURLOUGH LEAVE
a) Whilst you are on Furlough Leave, we are required by law to pay you, and shall pay you, wages/salary in accordance with the Minimum Scheme Requirements. The Minimum Scheme Requirements are the minimum payments we must make to you in order to receive reimbursement from the Government for your wage/salary costs. If we are offering to pay you more than required under the Minimum Scheme Requirements during Furlough Leave, this will be set out in clause 4 below.
b) We understand, but can give no warranty, that the Minimum Scheme Requirements in respect of your pay are as follows:
• If your pay is a fixed amount in each pay period, we must pay you 80% of your basic pay for each pay period (excluding fees, commission and bonus) as at 28 February 2020.
• If your earnings are variable from one pay period to another, we will pay you 80% of your Normal Pay for each pay period. o Your Normal Pay will be the higher of: You pay for the same pay period in the previous year; or o Your average earnings in the previous 12 months or the period of your employment to date if less than 12 months.
• In all cases, the wage/salary payments payable to you in terms of the Minimum Scheme Requirements shall be capped at £2,500 per month, before deductions. c Whilst you are on Furlough Leave, we are required by law to make, and shall make, employer’s pension contributions on your behalf at the minimum level required by autoenrolment legislation, providing you meet the relevant statutory qualifying conditions We will deduct from your wage/salary payments the minimum corresponding employee pension contribution required by law.
4. COMPANY REMUNERATION/BENEFITS DURING FURLOUGH LEAVE
a) Subject to clause 5 below, during Furlough Leave, the Company will:
• Top up the percentage of your wage/salary payable to you in each pay period to NUMBER% • Disapply the cap of £2,500 on your monthly earnings
• Increase the cap on your monthly earnings to £AMOUNT
• Continue to pay your full employer’s pension contributions, provided you continue to authorise us to deduct from your wage/salary your full employee’s pension contribution, such authority to be given by your acceptance of the terms of this agreement
• Continue to provide you with your normal benefits other than wages/salary and employer’s pension contributions, subject to any conditions imposed on us by our insurers where applicable;
• Only provide you with pay and pension contributions in accordance with the Minimum Scheme Requirements. 5. GENERAL CONDITIONS DURING FURLOUGH LEAVE a The payments made to you whilst on Furlough Leave will be subject to the normal deductions that we are required to make by law and/or in accordance with your contract of employment, including income tax, employee National Insurance contributions and employee pension contributions.
b) Annual leave will accrue as normal during Furlough Leave. You may take annual leave during the period of Furlough Leave to the extent permitted by the terms of the Scheme. The Company may give you notice in writing of any dates on which you are required to take annual leave during your period of Furlough Leave. During any period of annual leave, you will be paid in accordance with the normal terms of your employment contract.
c) Your Furlough Leave shall end on the earliest of the following events: i if you are employed on a fixed-term employment contract, the date on which that contract expires, unless we mutually agree to extend the contract; ii the Scheme ending (funding is currently promised by the Government up to 31 May 2020, although the Scheme may be extended); iii either you or us ceasing to be eligible for funding under the Scheme; or iv us deciding, at our sole discretion, to cancel Furlough Leave and bring you back to work at any time, even where we decide to do so temporarily.
d) During your Furlough Leave, you may not work for any other organisation, or on your own account. If you do, you must tell us, and you may be liable to repay any sums we have paid you under the Scheme if we become liable to repay it to the Government.
e) If you wish to apply to take Emergency Volunteering Leave in accordance with the Coronavirus Act 2020, and we grant your application, the parties understand that this will not affect your entitlement to Furlough Leave and the payments/benefits set out in this agreement, but we give no warranty to this effect.
f) When your Furlough Leave ends, while we will always endeavour to provide you with work, in the event of insufficient work being available you agree we are entitled to place you on short time or lay you off without any pay except for statutory guarantee payments.