Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether public sector employees under PAYE on zero-hours contracts are eligible for the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in the event that those employees are unable to be redeployed.

The Government expects that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will not be used by many public sector organisations, as most public sector employees are continuing to provide essential public services or contributing to the response to the coronavirus outbreak. Where employers receive public funding for staff costs, and that funding is continuing, the Government expect employers to use that money to continue to pay staff in the usual fashion, and correspondingly not furlough them. This also applies to non-public sector employers who receive public funding for staff costs. Organisations who are receiving public funding specifically to provide services necessary to respond to COVID-19 are not expected to furlough staff. In a small number of cases, for example where organisations are not primarily funded by the Government and whose staff cannot be redeployed to assist with the coronavirus response, the scheme may be appropriate for some staff. Employees on any type of employment contract are eligible for the scheme, including those on zero-hours contracts.