Coronavirus and Furlough: the next chapter

With the initial furlough (Job Retention Scheme) ending this month, employers are looking at the Job Support Scheme (JSS) to see how it will work for them. Initial views are mixed, with many employers querying whether the JSS provides sufficient financial support so as to avoid the need for compulsory redundancies. It is also unclear how the JSS will operate. If ‘top up’ payments are not to be permitted, will employees accept to go on to the JSS? What will the affordability test be? In the light of this, we are increasingly seeing employers considering alternatives to the JSS – whether this be through contractual changes, or the introduction of a ‘company furlough scheme’.

Our employment panel will look at the anticipated operation of the JSS, as well as some of the practical alternative measures that employers may take as they navigate the next phase of the pandemic.