How Much Notice is Required to Return From Furlough? Employment

With the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme beginning to wind down, many people are starting to prepare themselves to return to work. However, one of the common questions that arises with this is how much notice people will be given before they’re asked to return. In order to explain your rights and what to look out for, we’ve written the following guide.

How Much Notice Will I Be Given To Return To Work?

This really depends on the agreement set out by your employer. When you were initially furloughed, you should have received a furlough agreement document. This includes details such as your new salary, the anticipated end date of your furlough and other relevant information. Amongst this information, there should also be a note regarding your notice period should your employer wish to bring you back.

This could vary from a week, more or may even state that you should be ready to return immediately. Whilst this may be the case, your employer will hopefully still give you enough notice to allow you to prepare to return to work.

“Flexible Furlough”

With the government introducing flexible furlough, you may be asked to return on a part-time basis. This is a scheme that was announced to entice employers to phase their employees back into work. The idea is that you will return to work on a part-time basis and then once your employer has the work to justify it, you can return full-time. If you are asked to return on a flexible furlough basis, you will still be entitled to the notice period outlined in your furlough contract.

For the days that you work, you will be paid in full according to a pro rata basis. However, for those days that you remain on furlough, the government will continue to pay you 80% of your wage, capped at £2,500.

When Does the Furlough Scheme Come to an End?

As it stands, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is planned to come to an end on the 30th September 2021. If you have been on furlough for quite a while and your employer would struggle to bring you back earlier, you may be waiting until this date to return in a full capacity. However, from the 1st July this may change as the scheme begins to wind down. This date could encourage your employer to start phasing you back into work as more parts of the economy open up and companies attempt to cope with demand. For more information on the changes and how they could affect you, check out our guide dedicated to them.

Employment Advice in Stafford and South Staffordshire at BBO

Here at Building Better Opportunities, we are committed to providing people across Stafford and South Staffordshire with employment advice and welfare support. If you have been affected in any way by the pandemic, please contact us. Our advocates would be happy to help and provide any advice that you need. We also host a variety of drop in sessions around a number of employability issues. Here, you can speak to a variety of experienced leaders and other people in a similar situation.