Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on businesses of staff (a) accruing paid holiday entitlement and (b) increasing their length of service while furloughed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks annual leave, which should be paid as if workers were still at work and working. Annual leave continues to accrue as long as the worker maintains their employment relationship with their employer, which is the case whilst an employee is on a period of furlough through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Regarding length of service, a furlough period is a variation to a worker’s contract of employment. The contract of employment would continue and count towards continuous employment.

The Government has been clear that employment rights remain unchanged under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Therefore, as holiday rights are unaffected by the scheme, and as being placed on furlough does not break the contract of employment, no assessment has been made.