Coronavirus: resource round-up
Our resources on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme include podcasts, a webinar and FAQS, as well as guidance on specific topics in employment law manual sections. The latest addition is a guide on how to furlough employees. We also have model letters for employers to use to explain their plans to furlough staff, to inform employees at risk of redundancy that their job is safe for now, to withdraw a redundancy notice and to seek agreement from an employee to be furloughed. See below for these resources.
Regulations, effective from 26 March 2020, amend the Working Time Regulations 1998 to allow workers to carry forward leave not used because of coronavirus. For more information, see our FAQs and employment law manual section on annual leave (below).
The Ministry of Defence has announced that it has mobilised a limited number of military reservists with specialist skills to assist in the military's actions to support the national coronavirus response. We have a wealth of resources to help employers manage the mobilisation of reserve forces - see below.
See below for list of International guides that include information on measures taken by governments abroad that will affect global employers. Information for other guides will be added.
We are producing regular podcasts on issues faced by employers as a result of the coronavirus outbreak and will be discussing the latest developments with experts in employment law and practice. The most recent podcast covers the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and what this means for employers.
Emergency volunteering leave (sometimes abbreviated to EVL) is a new right for employees that is contained in the Coronavirus Act 2020. The provisions in the Act are not yet in force - an enabling Regulation is required. We have just published four FAQs on this leave (see below) and we are planning further new content - see Coming soon to XpertHR.
The results of our pulse survey on the workplace impact of coronavirus and the actions that HR functions are taking in response are now available - see below.
We will add further resources and update our guidance as the situation develops.
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough leave)
- What is the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme?
- How to furlough employees under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
- Webinar: Coronavirus - measures to protect your business
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and variation of contract
- Coronavirus and your workforce podcast: The Job Retention Scheme and furloughing workers
- Coronavirus and your workforce podcast: School closures and the Job Retention Scheme
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to be running by end of April (News)
Which employees can be furloughed
- Which employees can be furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme?
- Can an employee be furloughed if they are on maternity leave, or other family-related leave?
- Can agency workers be placed on furlough?
- Can apprentices be furloughed?
- Can an employer furlough a new recruit who has a start date after 28 February 2020 if they accepted a job offer before that date?
- Can an employer claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for an employee who was placed on an unpaid period of lay-off before the scheme was announced?
- Can an employer rotate which employees are furloughed during the coronavirus crisis?
Pay during furlough
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and pay
- How should an employer calculate statutory maternity pay (SMP) for an employee who is on furlough leave or in receipt of sick pay during the SMP calculation period?
- Can an employer pay a furloughed employee 80% of their wages if this is below the national minimum wage rate?
- Does an employer that uses the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme to pay 80% of furloughed employees' wages have to make up the difference so they are paid in full?
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and wage recovery
- Which wage costs are covered under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme?
- How do you calculate the wages of an employee with irregular hours for the purpose of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme?
- How does an employer make a claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme?
Letters to employees
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Letter explaining your organisation's plans to "furlough" staff
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Letter seeking an employee's agreement to be furloughed
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Letter informing an employee put at risk of redundancy that their job is safe for now
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Letter withdrawing a redundancy notice
Redundancy and furlough leave
- Can an employer withdraw notice of redundancy that was given before the announcement of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme?
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Letter withdrawing a redundancy notice
- Can employers bring back employees who were made redundant before the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was announced, and make a claim for them under the scheme?
- Does placing employees on furlough prevent the employer from making them redundant?
Annual leave during furlough
Pension contributions under furlough
Workforce changes
Redundancy
- How to consider alternatives to redundancy during the coronavirus crisis
- Webinar: Coronavirus - measures to protect your business
- Consider support before making redundancies, says Bank of England boss (News)
Lay-offs and short-time working
- Lay-off and short-time working
- What is the difference between a lay-off and a redundancy?
- Contract clause on lay off and short-time working
- Letter seeking agreement to a lay-off or short-time working
- Letter imposing a lay-off or short-time working in exercise of a contractual power
- Letter informing an employee who has been laid off or put on short-time working that they can return to normal working
Contract changes
- Liveflo: Change an employee's terms and conditions
- Variation of contracts
- During the coronavirus outbreak, can an employer require its employees to take on different roles to cover absence?
- Letter informing an employee of a pay freeze
- Letter seeking agreement to reduce an employee's pay to avoid redundancies
- Temporary increased working hours policy
- Temporary reduced working hours policy
Job offers
- Can an employer that is affected by the coronavirus crisis postpone a new recruit's start date or withdraw a job offer?
- Letter withdrawing a new recruit's job offer because of the coronavirus outbreak
- Letter postponing a new recruit's start date because of the coronavirus outbreak
- Can an employer furlough a new recruit who has a start date after 28 February 2020 if they accepted a job offer before that date?
Probationary periods
- Can an employer terminate the contract of an employee in their probationary period if it is facing financial difficulty because of the coronavirus crisis?
- Letter extending an employee's probationary period because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
Hours of work
Homeworking
- Working from home: How HR can deal with the daily dilemmas
- Acas working from home guidance: be 'practical, flexible and sensitive' (News)
- Homeworking policy
Communications to employees on coronavirus
- Coronavirus (COVID-19): Temporary changes to workplace policies and procedures
- Letter providing guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19) for staff
- Podcast: Dealing with the impact of coronavirus in the workplace
Absence from work
Attendance at work
- Coronavirus (COVID-19): Potential absence and attendance scenarios and how to deal with them
- What obligations does an employer have to an employee who lives with someone who is at very high risk of serious illness from coronavirus?
- Which employees are allowed to travel to work during the period of "lockdown" to control the coronavirus outbreak?
- During a flu pandemic or an infectious disease outbreak such as coronavirus, can an employer insist that someone with flu symptoms comes to work?
- What should an employer do if an employee is concerned about the risk of contracting coronavirus and does not want to attend work?
- Can an employer instruct an employee who may be at risk of having contracted coronavirus not to come to work?
- Should a policy triggering disciplinary action after a certain amount of absence be suspended in relation to employees with coronavirus symptoms during the outbreak?
Emergency volunteering leave
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) and emergency volunteering leave
- Who is entitled to take emergency volunteering leave during the coronavirus outbreak?
- How much emergency volunteering leave can a worker take during the coronavirus outbreak?
- What are the notice and evidence requirements for a worker to take emergency volunteering leave during the coronavirus outbreak?
- Do employers have to pay workers who are on emergency volunteering leave during the coronavirus outbreak?
Time off
Sick pay
- Coronavirus and statutory sick pay (Commentary and analysis)
- If an employee is advised to self-isolate to avoid the risk of spreading coronavirus, are they entitled to sick pay?
- Covid-19: Support planned for self-isolators who don't qualify for sick pay (News)
- Statutory sick pay and coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Recovery of statutory sick pay and coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Future developments on statutory sick pay and coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Budget 2020: Coronavirus sick pay to be covered for SMEs (News)
- What medical evidence can an employer request from employees who are absent with flu-like symptoms during the coronavirus outbreak, when government advice is not to attend a GP?
- How should an employer calculate statutory maternity pay (SMP) for an employee who is on furlough leave or in receipt of sick pay during the SMP calculation period?
Pay
- If, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, an employer instructs employees not to come to work, does it have to pay them in full?
- If an employer's workplace is closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus, must it continue to pay employees?
School closures
- How should employers respond if employees are affected by school closures to prevent the spread of coronavirus?
- Coronavirus and your workforce podcast: School closures and the Job Retention Scheme
Annual leave
- Workers will be able to carry over annual leave for two years (News)
- Coronavirus and carrying forward leave
- Can unused statutory annual holiday be carried forward to the next holiday year?
- Can an employee cancel a period of annual leave if they are unable to go on holiday due to the coronavirus outbreak?
- Can an employer require employees to use their annual leave during the coronavirus outbreak?
Wellbeing, health and safety
Mental health
- Homeworking: Letter highlighting how employees can look after their mental health during the coronavirus outbreak
- Letter to employees highlighting the role of mental health first-aiders within the organisation
Workplace health and safety
- Infectious diseases in the workplace policy
- Letter providing guidance for staff on control of infectious diseases in the workplace
- Is there any duty on employers to close their workplace if a risk of contact with coronavirus is identified?
- Do employers have a duty to take special measures to protect those employees who are most at risk if they are exposed to coronavirus?
- What obligations does an employer have to pregnant employees during the coronavirus crisis?
Reservists
- Liveflo: Managing a reservist's mobilisation
- How to respond when members of the reserve forces are called out for military service
- Policy on employing reservists
- What financial assistance can an employer claim from the Ministry of Defence when one of its employees is mobilised?
Contingency planning
- Flu pandemic contingency plan
- If an employer has a high proportion of employees self-isolating to avoid the spread of coronavirus, can it require other employees to work extra hours to cover the work?
Key workers
- Letter to school confirming key worker status for coronavirus response
- List of key workers prioritised for educational provision during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Pulse HR survey report
- Coronavirus: HR's initial response survey April 2020
- How HR practitioners are coping in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Commentary and news
- 'Emergency brake' on minimum wage rises may be needed
- Home Office warns of delay in EU settlement scheme decisions
- Frontline health workers granted visa extension
- Met Police asks retired officers to return
- Self-employed eligible for 80% of monthly pay
- Graduate and apprentice hiring hit by coronavirus uncertainty
- Businesses and unions react to UK 'lockdown'
- Coronavirus crisis accelerates digitisation of employment tribunals
- Supermarkets create 30,000 jobs to meet surging demand
Regulatory changes
- Coronavirus: Home Office speeds up right to work checks
- Temporary changes to the rules on right to work checks
- Coronavirus: Right to work in the UK model documents updated
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) and suspension of gender pay gap reporting enforcement
- Gender pay gap reporting enforcement suspended this year (News)
- Off-payroll working in the private sector
- Home Office guidance on sponsors' duties in relation to employee absence
Legal timetable
- Right to carry over statutory annual leave for two years introduced
- Mandatory business closures due to coronavirus take effect
- Coronavirus Act comes into force
- Temporary relaxation of EU rules on drivers' hours introduced
International - emergency measures
- Argentina
- Australia
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- France
- Germany
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Puerto Rico
- South Africa
Key topics
- Coronavirus
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme/Furlough leave
- Annual leave and holiday pay
- Collective redundancies - information and consultation
- End of employment
- Health and safety
- Homeworking/teleworking
- Insolvency
- Job offers
- Lay-offs and short-time working
- Mental health
- Notice periods
- Payments on termination
- Redundancy
- Sickness absence and sick pay
- Time off for dependants
- Work organisation and working patterns
- Zero hours and casual contracts
