11 furloughing need-to-knows for employees and small firms

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- Martin Lewis

Little more than a month ago few had heard of the word furlough, now it’s on millions of lips, as it has become a crucial lifeline. The Coronavirus Job Retention scheme, which allows firms to furlough staff who don’t have or can’t work is now open. The aim is to protect economic victims of the coronavirus, and leave them ready to return straight to work, to kick-start the economy once this is over.

Yet for some employees and small employers, especially those without HR functions, furloughing can seem complex. This in itself may be stopping some from agreeing to implement this important financial lifeline.

While it is an employer’s choice whether to furlough, my hope is that this quick briefing, or cheat sheet if you like, will offer enough information to hopefully give employers confidence to furlough staff (and former staff) when appropriate. There’s information and explanations at mse.me/employeefurloughhelp and gov.uk coronavirus guides for employers and employees.