Coronavirus, Furlough Leave and Redundancy
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough scheme) has now ended.
Even with the unprecedented support of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough scheme), it was always likely that many companies would be looking at making staff redundant, either during, or at the end of, the furlough period. After all, the purpose of the scheme is to help: “employers whose operations have been severely affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) to retain their employees and protect the UK economy” and the Guidance Notes explicitly acknowledge the possibility of redundancy: “Your employer can still make you redundant while you’re on furlough or afterwards”.
It is possible for employers to make employees redundant during or after furlough leave. However, given that the purpose of the CJRS is to enable employers to maintain their workforce, employers should be careful not to progress too quickly from furlough to redundancy.
Documents to help employers manage redundancy during and after furlough leave can be found in the Employment folder.