It seems that the guidance from HM Government and HMRC is slowing down a bit, although we are still awaiting clarification on a number of points including annual leave during furlough and employees who TUPE’d in after 28th February 2020. Hopefully, these points will be addressed shortly and we’ll let you know as soon as we do. In the meantime, here’s the latest that we do know:
Apprenticeships
The Government last night published guidance relating to Apprentices during Furlough Leave. You can read the full (very long and rather boring!) guidance at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-apprenticeship-programme-response/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-apprentices-employers-training-providers-end-point-assessment-organisations-and-external-quality-assurance-pro
The highlights can be summarised as follows:
- Confirmation that apprentices on furlough can continue their training as long as it does not provide services or generate revenue for their employer (we knew that already)
- Encouraging both training and assessment to take place remotely
- Granting extensions, where appropriate, to the timetable for assessments
- Allowing breaks in learning, and explaining how they should be recorded
- Stating HM Treasury will not be pausing apprenticeship levy payments for employers
Furlough Agreements
We have updated our Furlough Leave agreements in line with the very latest guidance available, but there is no need to re-issue to employers/workers who have already signed one of the original versions.
You can access these updated versions in the Dropbox folder provided to members of our Advice Line scheme.
Restarting your business
We are currently working on documents and support for you as you plan to restart work and recalling employees from Furlough Leave. There will undoubtedly be numerous things you will need to plan/action and we’ll be there to help. We’ll keep you posted on that but of course if there’s anything you want to discuss in advance please do call us.
