Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the economic incentive for employers and agencies to furlough casual workers in cases where (1) employers and agencies do not have any contractual obligations to provide workers with work and no correlative duty to pay, and (2) employers may have potential future liability to pay casual workers with redundancy pay after undertaking a fair redundancy procedure.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is designed to help employers whose operations have been severely affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) to retain their employees and protect the UK economy. Employers can claim for employees on any type of employment contract, including full-time, part-time, agency, flexible or zero hours contracts.

In this unprecedented time, we would urge employers and agencies to take socially responsible decisions and listen to the concerns of their workforce. Employers and employees, including casual workers, should come to a pragmatic agreement about these arrangements. We have been clear that employers should carefully consider the guidance.

However, the scheme is not an employment right and it is up to the employer to decide who to furlough.

Normal redundancy rules and payments apply while an employee is furloughed. The employee will maintain rights to redundancy payments and against unfair dismissal during the period of furlough. Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grants cannot be used to substitute redundancy payments.