The Government has amended the eligibility criteria of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme so that commission payments can be included in claims for Furloughed Pay.
The clarification states that employers will be able to claim for any regular payments that they are obliged to pay employees including:
Wages
Past overtime
Fees
Compulsory commission payments
N.B. Discretionary bonuses and commission payments however, and non-cash payments cannot be included.
The details are here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme#how-much-you-can-claim
ARLA/propertymark claimed the change as a victory though pressure had been put on the government from a variety of industries, including recruiters and car dealers, whose staff rely heavily on commission as a significant part of their income. A petition by the Motor Dealers Association calling for inclusion of commissions in the scheme gathered many thousands of signatures.
David Cox, ARLA CEO said: “This clarification is a really important development in stabilising the sector as we look towards the recovery. Where staff are furloughed, they must be supported to return in the strongest position, bringing back with them the professional skills and experience that landlords and tenants rely on. Before that, furloughed staff who are able, may decide to pursue training or take part in voluntary work to support their community.”
Property Academny webinar today on furloughing
At 12.00 today, (Tuesday 7th April 2020), Property Academy is running a free webinar for estate agency business owners who want to understand the latest about furloughing.
Many businesses have taken action to safeguard their employees salaries and protect the future of their businesses by accessing the government’s emergency Job Retention Scheme.
This new initiative has been broadly welcomed, yet at the same time, it has created a great deal of uncertainty and more questions than answers such as:
– How can I ensure that furloughed employees remain engaged?
– What level of contact is appropriate?
– What if I have furloughed team-members who are keen to continue working?
– What activities, if any, can I get those team members involved in?
– What if I have furloughed team-members who have withdrawn and are not communicating?
– What if I have a crucial team member who has asked to be furloughed because they are in a high risk category, or living with someone who is?
– Can furloughed employees take on other work to make up the 20% dent in their salary?
Property Academy is putting on this special webinar together with employment law consultant & regular Property Academy Speaker, Ken Allison
In this webinar, Ken will clarify the situation, explode the myths & help to remove the anxieties – helping to give agency owners more confidence to be able to resolve the practical people issues and questions that have arisen.
This session aims to provide peace of mind about what you can and cannot do and help to provide confidence when handling issues as they arise.
To take part, agents can register here: https://propertyacademy.co.uk/events/webinar-7-april20
Comments (13)
Following this article it would appear that many agents are earning a lot less than the quoted £45000/annum average salary. £2500/mth is the maximum you can claim
Ah… my employer is honouring deals already done.
My common sense side says its difficult to justify paying team members for un-earnt future income.
But neither is it the Sales Teams fault that coronavirus has hampered their ‘lost/damaged’ future earnings.
Now bearing in mind the whole purpose of the CVJRS is to minimise the efect on individuals, then there is a good and fair discussion to be had that lost future earnings should be included.
Therefore this is where the average earnings methodology should come in to play.
Jonathan, has your employer offered to pay 100% of commission even if it is higher than the amount they are able to claim for?
Thanks
No. I got what was owed from March commission which got paid with 80% of my basic salary, but my employer isn’t topping up the basic salary to 100%
Wooly statement requiring further clarity – as per.
Compulsory = Contracted
Therefore the EMPLOYER can now claim these costs back.
It looks like EMPLOYEES may well fall under the category ‘Employees Whose Pay Varies’
Consequently –
In circumstances where the employee has been employed for 12 months or more, you can claim the highest of either:
The same month’s earning from the previous year
Average monthly earnings for the 2019-2020 tax year
At least that’s a little more
Still not clear cut though Jonathan.
There is a suggestion that payments for commission may only relate to those ‘deals’ already agreed prior to furlough.
Just noticed The propertymark website isn’t crystal clear either although the inference is as outlined in my previous post.
But you can’t include yourselves if you are working out these commissions
“Compulsory commission payments”
Is this based on the last 12 months commission?
Or a fixed payment that you earn, as in basic pay?
What is the difference between commission and compulsory commission?
Compulsory commission is just normal commission ie that part of agreed OTE but excludes discretionary commission or bonus payments. That’s my take on it anyway.
So you can’t include commission then lol