{"id":175569,"date":"2022-08-31T08:09:26","date_gmt":"2022-08-31T07:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/?p=175569"},"modified":"2022-08-31T08:09:27","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T07:09:27","slug":"temporary-lay-offs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/employment\/temporary-lay-offs\/","title":{"rendered":"Considerations When Making Temporary Lay-Offs in England"},"content":{"rendered":"

Running a business and employing staff is not always easy. There may be times when business is slow, and you simply do not have enough work for your employees. When this occurs, you may find that you need to consider temporary lay-offs. There are legal considerations to note as an employer if you are engaging in temporary lay-offs. Otherwise, you could risk consequences such as a claim in an employment tribunal for constructive dismissal. This article will explain temporary lay-offs in England.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a Temporary Lay-Off?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

A temporary lay-off is where you temporarily send your employees home for at least one working day as you do not have any work for them to do in their job. Alternatively, you may introduce short-time working, which is asking your employees to work fewer hours. If you temporarily lay off your staff, it is usually a short-term situation, but there is no legal time limit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, you should note that if you lay off employees for more than 4 weeks consecutively or a total of 6 weeks in 14 weeks, your employee may legally apply for redundancy and <\/span>redundancy pay<\/span><\/a>. It follows that a temporary lay-off should only be short-term.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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You may carry out temporary lay-offs as a last resort where you are attempting to avoid making redundancies in your business. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you carry out temporary lay-offs, your staff can build up their <\/span>holiday entitlement<\/span><\/a> as though they are still physically carrying out their job role.<\/span><\/p>\n

What to Consider Before Temporarily Laying-Off Staff<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you are thinking about temporary lay-offs, you should consider if you can take alternative actions. For example, your business could:<\/span><\/p>\n