Coronavirus Global Pandemic
How to navigate ‘Furlough Leave’ and what businesses need to consider
Three William Davis Homes’ apprentices are awarded CITB scholarships
ON Friday, 20 March, in an effort to keep the economy moving and safeguard UK jobs, the government announced it would be introducing the coronavirus job retention scheme as part of a package of measures to alleviate the impact of COVID-19 on businesses across the UK. Law firm Nelsons has received a huge number of enquiries from a range of businesses – including retailers, restaurants and bars, manufacturers and call centres – wanting to implement the scheme and seeking advice on how best to do this. Laura Kearsley, partner and solicitor in Nelsons’ employment law team, explains how the new government scheme will work and what actions businesses need to take. • What is the coronavirus job retention scheme and who can participate? The scheme will enable businesses to recover 80% of wage costs for employees on ‘furlough leave’ – which is an entirely new concept and is a new class of indefinite leave where the government will reimburse the employer for wage costs. This has
been introduced as an alternative for employers who might have otherwise implemented redundancies, lay-off, unpaid leave or other measures for their employees. All UK businesses are eligible to claim under the scheme. It seems that employees will be covered, but not other workers (such as casual staff or contractors) or the self-employed. The government has announced that the scheme is available for at least three months from 1 March 2020 and will be extended if necessary. • What costs can employers recover? The coronavirus job retention scheme allows for 80% of wage costs to be recovered up to £2,500 per month per employee. There TURN TO PAGE 3 ...>
THREE William Davis Homes’ apprentices – two bricklayers, Joe Gardner and Kieran Findley and Jack Jordan, a carpenter & joiner – have received Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Scholarship Awards. The three apprentices, currently employed by 5 Star housebuilder William Davis Homes, are part of the company’s long-established in-house apprenticeship programme. They were nominated for the scholarship by the CITB, which is open to apprentices living in the East and West Midlands and East Anglia. The apprentices are currently
(Front row l-r) Apprentices: Kieran Findley, Joe Gardiner, Jack Jordan. (Back row l-r) Dave King, Sam McKellar, Amanda Drabant and Gary Long. attending Leicester College for their off-site studies. All nominees must be in their second or third year of training and be working towards an apprentice qualification. Added to this, candidates must either have demonstrated excellence throughout their apprenticeship or have overcome significant barriers to work and/or study and be able to demonstrate they have achieved a high standard which has been recognised by their mentors and peers.
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