Furlough Scheme FAQs
Helping you through difficult and uncertain times
We are pleased to be able to offer a Furlough Scheme to our workers at this difficult and uncertain time. Monitoring of Government guidance is ongoing and we will update the terms of our scheme in response to any changes.
For Government guidance on the Job Retention Scheme, please click here
We have a specialist Furlough Team on hand to answer specific questions relating to your individual circumstances. If your question has not been answered in our FAQs below, please email furlough@protocol-education.com make sure you include your full name. The team are very busy at this time but will do their best to respond to emailed queries within 72 hours.
The Protocol Education Furlough scheme starts from Monday 23rd March 2020 as this was the first full week of nationwide school closures.
Our scheme will be based on the higher of 80% of:
average weekly earnings from the 2019-20 tax year (or part of depending on when you were first paid). The average amount will be calculated using your earnings divided by the number of weeks during your most current registration with Protocol Education
or
average weekly earnings for the Furlough period dates this time last year (scaled up by 52 weeks to get a full year comparison)
The full year calculation will be based on 52 weeks to enable us to make Furlough payments throughout the school holiday periods.
No - under the terms of the government’s Job Retention Scheme, you cannot have paid work within the dates of the Furlough scheme. If any timesheeted days took place during the Furlough period, you cannot be invited onto the scheme for those particular weeks.
We are however reviewing eligibility to the scheme on a weekly basis. If based on our weekly reviews you are included onto the scheme at a future date, your payments will be backdated from the later of the 23rd March 2020 or from the Monday of the first week where you did not work.
Please liaise with your local consultant to ensure that the booking has been removed from your diary. Once your diary is clear you will be included as part of our weekly Furlough scheme review and if eligible under all the remaining criteria you will be sent a Furlough invitation. Regardless of when you join the scheme, payments will be paid from the later of Monday 23rd March 2020 or the first Monday after the last day you worked.
Yes.
No – if you work via an umbrella company you are not eligible for Furlough through Protocol Education. You will need to speak to your Umbrella company for details of their scheme.
No. Although you can be invited in future once the statutory payments are finished.
No. If you accept our Furlough offer you have agreed to be paid furlough payments for a minimum of three weeks. After three weeks then you are able to leave the scheme.
Please email the specialist Furlough team on furlough@protocol-education.com and they will reverse the acceptance offer. If you have already been payrolled under Furlough and wish to withdraw your acceptance then you will need to repay the Furlough amount. Please liaise with the specialist Furlough team to organise this.
No – Furlough only applies in cases where you have no paid work through Protocol Education.
Yes. Under the terms of the government scheme, you can accept offers of Furlough from multiple employers and agencies. The £2500 cap applies to each employer individually.
The Furlough payments will be made weekly in arrears.
Yes
Under the terms of the government scheme, you cannot be invited to Furlough if you registered after the 28th February 2020. You may be entitled to apply for universal credit if you require additional financial assistance. Please visit https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit for more details. You might be eligible under the furlough scheme of your previous employer and should contact them directly.
You will be sent an email outlining your Furlough invitation including an option to accept furlough electronically.
Yes. Our calculations of your payments ensure that we can run our scheme throughout school holiday periods.
If you are not sick and don't qualify for our Furlough scheme, then you can apply for universal credit. Click here for full details and all you need to know about universal credit.
The amount quoted on the emails is the gross amount. This will be subject to tax and NI as per normal.
Yes. You will need to advise the Department for Work and Pensions of the amount you will be getting on Furlough. This may have an impact on your universal credit payments.
No. This is paid work and therefore would exclude you from the Furlough scheme.
Yes. Our scheme includes candidates who completed their first bookings in week ending 28th February 2020.
The terms of the agreement allow you to take up part time or temporary roles whilst you are receiving Furlough. If you source permanent employment, then you should not accept furlough payments unless the employment falls outside normal school working hours.
Please try on an alternative device, for example a mobile phone. If the problem persists please contact your local branch.
Please check with your local branch if we have your correct email address on file and we will arrange a re-send.
Yes, you can accept Furlough payments if you are classed as self-employed. Based on the current government guidance available we can see no impact of Furlough on your self-employed status.
Yes. The terms of the government’s Job Retention Scheme caps Furlough earnings at a maximum of £2500 per month/£576.92 per week.
The terms of the government’s Job Retention Scheme only applies to workers who had an active PAYE record as of week ending 28th February 2020. Under HMRC rules, we are required to issue a p45 for agency workers who have not been payrolled for 16 weeks. As a result, you may have received a p45 from Protocol Education despite being registered with us. This will impact your eligibility for invitation to our Furlough scheme. If you have worked through another employer during this period, please liaise with them with regards to details of their Furlough scheme.
If you are invited to be ‘on Furlough’ it means you are being given a paid leave of absence from work instead of losing your job.