NMW/ NLW | and furlough

There’s been quite a bit of confusion over whether you have to pay the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NMW/NLW) to your staff during furlough.

The government has confirmed that:

• Your staff are entitled to the NMW/NLW when they are “working”.
• However, when your staff are furloughed, they are not considered as “working” and so are not eligible for the NMW/NLW.
• It gets trickier from July, where staff can be furloughed part-time:
  • For the time they’re furloughed, there’s no change – they are still not considered as “working” and so are not eligible for the NMW/NLW
  • For the time they are working, they are eligible for the NMW/NLW

We know what you’re thinking. Yes, it’s getting more complicated.