Important Announcement for Furloughed Workers

Danbro are pleased to confirm that we will be basing all furlough payments on 80% of taxable pay.

Our clients have been informed and those who have already received a payment from us – calculated at 80% of National Minimum Wage – will have their entitlement recalculated and the difference paid. All others who are waiting for a payment will now be paid 80% of usual, taxable pay.

‘Making sure we do right by you’

We know that, for many, this confirmation has been a long time coming, but we’re satisfied that we now have the requisite justification to pay our contractors what they deserve. This decision is not without risk and we will continue to lobby the government in search of the cast iron clarity we desire.

We must stress again that, as an employer, this scheme is voluntary and there are no obligations to make a submission. As an umbrella company, we are incurring considerable costs by accessing the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) – which has now been extended until October – some of which will not be reimbursed by the government. Furthermore, we will not retain a margin on any payments made. However, we wanted to make sure we were doing right by our contractors at a time when they need us most, so we’re extremely pleased to have reached this outcome.

Now, as we work through the extensive authorisation process, we once again thank our clients for their patience and understanding in these most unfamiliar and challenging of times.

‘Satisfied with our decision’

The path that has led us to this decision has been challenging, and not without risk, but as our Business Development Director, Colin Thompson, explains, paying contractors’ what they’re entitled to has always been our priority.

“As anybody in our industry knows, the furlough calculation point has been a difficult one to resolve,” Colin said. “After much deliberation, and discussions with our advisors, Danbro have reached a position where we are comfortable to make furlough payments to our contractors at 80% of average pay.”

“This has been a difficult process and, while we are satisfied with the decision we have made, I don’t believe this is the time to point the finger and ‘name and shame’ any providers who haven’t reached this point.”

“The risk to our industry was, and remains, significant. We have all been trying to balance the ambiguity in the guidance with what we believe the contractors are actually entitled to.”

“There’ll be a time again, hopefully soon, when we can enjoy trying to win business from each other, and all the fun and games that that involves, but in the meantime if any of our competitors would like a confidential chat about how we’ve reached our decision feel free to get in touch. I’d also like to thank our agency partners and contractors for their incredible patience and understanding.”

‘Working flat out to pay our contractors’

Operating a scheme of this magnitude in such trying circumstances is far from straightforward. Changes to both our internal systems and processes have been required to enable us to administer the scheme and operate it properly and effectively, while our teams continue to work remotely. Our dedicated employees are working flat out to pay people as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The criteria for eligibility is:

• You were employed by Danbro as at 19th March 2020.
• You received a payment from Danbro before 19th March 2020.
• We have your signed consent to the furlough agreement (if you do qualify, you will receive / have received a specific furlough agreement to sign).
• We have received independent verification from your agency and/or end client of the COVID-19 impact on your contract.

Finally, the minimum qualifying period for the CJRS is three weeks. Payments will only occur – at the earliest – three weeks after your furlough period begins. If you are furloughed for less than 21 days, you will not be eligible for the scheme.

This is Danbro’s position as at Tuesday 12th May 2020 and is subject to change as per further government updates.