BWF members such as yourselves frequently use our Member and Technical Helplines for assistance on a wide range of Employment, Health and Safety, Contractual and Technical issues. We’re putting up a frequently asked question every Tuesday in order to help members and illustrate the type of advice we are able to provide. If you have any questions that you would like to see featured, we would be happy to assist. This question and many others like it can be found in our Question Centre. If you want further advice on any of the issues, don’t hesitate to ring the helpline or browse our extensive publications library, which includes the BWF Employee Handbook, guidance on dealing with a redundancy situation, and a number of draft policies that you can adapt to fit your company. This week: What Must I Pay A Laid-Off Employee? After the recent economic downturn, employers in the woodworking and joinery industry may still be finding they do not have enough work for their employees, but would prefer to lay-off staff rather than start a compulsory redundancy programme. If you do choose to lay-off an employee, then they will be entitled to £21.20 per day (£22.20 from 1 February 2011) in statutory guarantee pay from the employer, for a maximum of five workless days in any three month period (giving a maximum guarantee payment of £106, or £111 from 1 February 2011) . Thereafter, the employee should be asked to register as temporarily unemployed at the local job centre. The payment is reliant on the employee:
The statutory guarantee payment can be paid pro-rata if the individual normally works fewer than five days a week. If the employee has carried out some work, but not the usual amount of work, during a particular day, then they cannot claim statutory guarantee pay for that day. When work is recommenced, the period of temporary lay-off will be deemed as continuous service. The employee retains some of their employment rights (for example, they are still able to take paid annual leave) during a lay-off. We would strongly recommend that employers who are laying off staff ensure that they have included a lay-off clause in the employees’ contracts. If a contract includes guarantee payments for periods of lay-off, which are higher than the statutory guarantee pay, then you will not need to pay statutory guarantee pay on top of this. You should also note that laid-off members of staff may be able to claim redundancy pay if they are laid-off for either four consecutive weeks, or six weeks within a 13 week period.