The Chancellor of the Exchequer has issued a new Treasury Direction modifying certain aspects of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The SM&B Employment Team’s summary of the changes can be found by following this link to the Firm’s website. One of the key changes is that the agreement putting an employee on furlough must specify the main terms and conditions upon which the employee will cease all work in relation to their employment, be incorporated (expressly or impliedly) in the employee’s contract, and made in writing or confirmed in writing by the employer (including by email). In practice, this means that an employer can confirm an agreement by way of email or letter to the employee after an agreement has been reached, but to mitigate the risk of future disagreements, employers are advised to obtain their employees’ express written consent to be furloughed at the same time that agreement has been reached on the terms stated.
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