Startups features Emma Gross on the end of the furlough scheme

1 October 2021

Our Employment Partner Emma Gross has been featured in Startups, the UK’s leading online resource for anyone starting and growing a business.

The article considers how losing the biggest financial support program available during the pandemic will impact SMEs, with Emma discussing what this will mean for employers on the subject of holiday allowance.

Emma notes, “The question of what is reasonably practicable [for granting employees holidays] has been left intentionally open to wide interpretation. Workers who are on furlough are unlikely to need to carry forward statutory annual leave, as they will be able to take it during the furlough period. However, they must be paid the correct holiday pay for their salary, meaning an employer would have to top up their furlough grant. If, due to the impact of coronavirus, the employer can’t afford the difference, it is likely that this would make it not reasonably practicable for the worker to take their leave, enabling the worker to carry their annual leave forward.”

Read the article

Emma Gross
Partner – Employment, Data Protection
Emma Gross is a Partner Solicitor at Spencer West. She specialises in Complex employment tribunal cases, data protection and the GDPR, negotiating settlements and advising on fair and reasonable redundancy procedures.