Furloughed - Company Activity

[northernladuk]

But for most contractors it is an individual attending an interview for a contract, not a salesman trying to sell a piece of work. I think any contractor here could argue that the company only gets involved when you see the contract and have confirmation that using a company would be a suitable way of processing the work.

After all what is sent to the agent is it a CV or a business proposition?

Which is done by the sales and/or marketing department which is one of the work hats a contractor wears. It's not statutory or administrative. This can be done by someone without a director but it cannot be done by a director that does not have an employee to send... if that makes sense.

Don't get me wrong, if I was out of work I'd be doing it. I'm sure the gov would much rather you go out and find a job rather than claim grants. We are just waxing lyrical about the wording.

[wcsltd]

+1

If its just paying hosting fees, updating software licenses, then I 'd consider that ok. But, if you administer servers, apply security patches etc, then that sounds like employee type work to me. Basically, anything that is driving income should be considered work.

Perhaps furlough yourself and employ someone else to do any such work on an ad-hoc basis?

For example, monthly hosting fees are collected via direct debit from the company. This then ensures that online services continue to run and keep the company afloat. I don't have to authorise those payments, it all happens automatically. So I wouldn't be actually working..

[northernladuk]

For example, monthly hosting fees are collected via direct debit from the company. This then ensures that online services continue to run and keep the company afloat. I don't have to authorise those payments, it all happens automatically. So I wouldn't be actually working..

Doing what?

[Paralytic]

For example, monthly hosting fees are collected via direct debit from the company. This then ensures that online services continue to run and keep the company afloat. I don't have to authorise those payments, it all happens automatically. So I wouldn't be actually working..

Perhaps the test would be: if you just sat in front of the TV all week and did nothing, would the business still function?

[northernladuk]

Perhaps the test would be: if you just sat in front of the TV all week and did nothing, would the business still function?

simplistic but could be.

[ladymuck]

Perhaps the test would be: if you just sat in front of the TV all week and did nothing, would the business still function?

And if it's still bringing in money then you've hit the jackpot!

[wcsltd]

Well that is exactly my point. My Ltd Company runs a couple of websites that generate income by themselves, require no input from me. These websites won't cover my PAYE completely so if I continue to 'work' and pay myself my usual income the company would eventually run out of cash. In order to operate those websites I have to pay hosting fees etc however these are all serviced by direct debits hence I don't have to do anything to service these DDs.

My accountant says that I cannot continue to 'run' these services to bring money into the company, even though I'm not actually doing anything to make that happen.

Its all early days I know, but surely the whole furlough idea is to keep businesses from going down the tubes isn't it?

[CheeseSlice]

Well that is exactly my point. My Ltd Company runs a couple of websites that generate income by themselves, require no input from me. These websites won't cover my PAYE completely so if I continue to 'work' and pay myself my usual income the company would eventually run out of cash. In order to operate those websites I have to pay hosting fees etc however these are all serviced by direct debits hence I don't have to do anything to service these DDs.

My accountant says that I cannot continue to 'run' these services to bring money into the company, even though I'm not actually doing anything to make that happen.

Its all early days I know, but surely the whole furlough idea is to keep businesses from going down the tubes isn't it?

I thought it was to avoid the laying off of staff due to their inability to work..

Do you seriously run a couple of websites commercially that have no sort of support service or maintenance required? What happens if one goes down? are you planning to quickly un-furlough yourself?

[wcsltd]

I thought it was to avoid the laying off of staff due to their inability to work..

Do you seriously run a couple of websites commercially that have no sort of support service or maintenance required? What happens if one goes down? are you planning to quickly un-furlough yourself?

So the answer to my original question is no, you can't furlough and let the business continue, it has to go 'dormant'.

[Paralytic]

So the answer to my original question is no, you can't furlough and let the business continue, it has to go 'dormant'.

No - its the employee that is furloughed. The thinking is that so long as the person being furloughed does no work for the company (other than director's statutory duties), the company can continue to pay the furloughed employee their salary (80-100%) and can claim back 80% via a grant at a later date.

But, until someone comes along and shares their experiences (unless I've missed it?), we can't say for sure.

You haven't specifically answered that question yet: can you business continue to run with you doing *no* work for it? If not, you can't furlough yourself unless you give up those responsibilities. Have a read of this: Claim for your employees' wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - GOV.UK

I'd be interested in seeing what "proof" needs to be provided (if any) that the employee was furloughed due to Covid-19. In my view, there seems to be a lot of talk that it'll just be an simple application and the grant will be paid, but I'd expect there to be some level of proof required (although the page above really only mentions the chance of a retrospective audit).

We've already seen multiple people who were out of contract prior to March (perhaps due to IR35?) and are hoping to jump on the Covid-19 bandwagon. It seems to me that the grant is for those employees who are out of a job due to Covid, whereas many contractors are hoping it will also apply to those that can't get a contract due to Covid. I'm not convinced it is intended to cover those latter cases.