Furlough pay massive inconsistencies

[Rustygriswold]

I have a 6 hour contract but regularly worked much more hours (welcome to UK retail)

I’ve been furloughed since last March on 6 hours at NMW. So my take home each month should be £260 approx for 6 hours at NMW £8.72

Before Covid especially in peak seasons like summer and before Christmas I was working over 25 hours a week. I work part time due to childcare reasons.

Every single month since last March the amount has been different. Sometimes £460 sometimes £260 other times any amount in between.

The only answer I’ve had from an email query to work about this is ‘it’s been adjusted for holiday pay’.

I don’t get paid a different holiday rate, and have booked off zero holiday over this last year obviously due to being furloughed.

My payslip unlike pre-Covid days has no details, just says ‘Flexi Furlough’ and hours as ‘1’

I don’t know if they increased in line with changes to minimum wage rates whenever it was recently.

Our payroll is one man for around 3,000 global employees.
After 10 years trading the company has only just created a HR.

They’re a pretty famous high street chain with a notorious employee reputation fully deserved. I’ve witnessed staff till irregularities, regular stock theft always when a particular assistant manager is on the shop floor, lack of professionalism, health and safety breaches and workplace rights invasion, all sorts.

I have absolutely no qualms in suggesting they are corrupt, but if I state their name, the thread will be pulled. Let’s just say they’re a cheap pile em’ high sell em’ cheap ‘outdoors’ retail. If anyone comments their name the thread will be pulled and I’ll lose any valuable advice from posters so please consider this. Just say ‘I know who you mean’ ! if you must.

Anyway, does anyone else have similar payslip inconsistencies if you’ve also been furloughed this long?

I know furlough is calculated on the average of your last 3 months earnings, which for me was over the busy Christmas period hence the higher £460 amounts, but that hasn’t been consistent, I’m getting a different amount each month, yet I haven’t worked there since last March.

I’ve no idea if I’m going back when the shops open up again 12th April. Work hasn’t been in touch yet. We have too many staff but will have a bumper summer no doubt as we sell exactly what staycationers need for their trips, but there is rota favouritism as several staff want the most hours as possible especially the students understandably, and as one of the staff with young children, and on the lowest contracted hours, I’ll always be the last resort left to cover the many staff fake sickies and so on, and the cleaning hour before the shop closes. So I’ll only get the dregs ends of what’s available, it at all.

(Yes I am looking for an alternative job by the way!)

I thought that if your hours vary they would base your wages on the the hours worked in the non-covid, corresponding month from the previous year. Could explain the varying amounts.

If you work variable hours you either get paid for an average of your annual hours or the hours worked in that same period last year depending on which is higher and it would be paid at 80% of whatever your hourly rate was in February 2020. If they are including holiday entitlement (whi h they can even though you are not taking holidays) they have to pay that at 100% but can only claim back 80%

I’d started the job in the autumn before Covid hit in spring.

Government said it’s based on average hours of last 3 months worked prior to furlough.

Where did you see that because this is what it says on the government website and this is how we calculate it where I
work

*calculate ‘usual hours’ based on the higher of either:

the average number of hours worked in the tax year 2019 to 2020
the corresponding calendar period in a previous year*

Does it rhyme with fountain square house? Shame if so, I buy loads from there.

If you only started the job in the autumn then how can you have worked more hours in the peak summer period?

Furlough is worked out one of three ways

80% of your regular, contracted weekly hours

80% of the average weekly hours worked during the 19-20 tax year (or the average of however long you worked there if you started during that tax yea)

80% of the hours you worked the same week the previous year.

Sounds just like new look to me which was awful to work for. Hope you get the issue sorted

You need to post specific amounts to check this.

1. Variation by month will be reflected through on furlough. If your contracted hours are lower then you only get the higher furlough for the times of year you worked more hours.
2. Holidays are paid at 100% not 80%, they are giving you holiday on furlough so you don't have holiday due when back at work (fair enough as you aren't working).

Write down month by month what you were paid from when you started, aligned by month.
Note number of holiday days and account for them as full salary for those months.
Use the Gross figures to avoid having to adjust for tax and other adjustments.

Sorry if I am missing something but you say you should get 260, but are getting more, but you're angry?

@StealthPolarBear Not angry. Confused.
@MRex Thankyou the holiday pay at 100% probably explains the huge variations