Garage businesses wishing to put staff on furlough leave are being advised that they should be in a position to demonstrate evidence that business diminished due to the coronavirus restrictions to such an extent that staff had no work to do, a motor trade legal consultancy has said.
Speaking to the IAAF, a Lawgistics spokesperson said: “Car repair and MOT services are specifically exempt from the obligatory closure.
“Remember that the furlough leave is an alternative to redundancies and lay-offs.
“If a garage intends to put its staff on furlough leave, or some of its staff, we should strongly advised that the garage should be in a position to demonstrate the evidence that its business diminished to the extent that the mechanics had no work to do and the staff had to be put on or agreed furlough leave.”
Furlough leave and sick leave
Lawgistics also points out that furlough leave is a separate matter from sick leave.
The spokesperson said: “If your employee is sick, and perhaps shows coronavirus symptoms, the employer will be within its rights to send this employee home and insist on self-isolation.
“However, it does not mean that this employee can be put on furlough leave by reason of sickness.
“The furlough leave is an alternative to redundancy and lay-offs.
“A sick or self-isolating employee should be on sick leave for the duration of sickness or self-isolation (not social shielding) and due sick pay.”
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