As the heading asks, how are you paid? Is it a fixed salary, flexible hourly rate or on target earnings, or a combination of these?
In just over 32 years working in the insolvency profession I have been confronted with a wide variety of challenges. However, the single most challenging task is when informing people, they are being made redundant. It is my own fear, and I will never get used to being that messenger, even if those unfortunate employees being made redundant is for the greater good of saving a business.
When a company enters into a formal insolvency procedure, in most cases employees are entitled to make a claim for their entitlements against the Redundancy Payments Service (“RPS”). The one regular surprise (it would appear) is that employee claimants includes directors provided they are able to demonstrate they were also employees at the time.
Generally speaking, the entitlements are wage arrears, accrued/unpaid holiday, redundancy and payment in lieu of notice. In most cases, these claims are assessed quite easily. You enter your fixed pay details and what you are owed on the online application. However, what if you are on flexible hours or your income fluctuates due to commission earnings, so you are unable to insert a definitive earning figure? This has been an issue for as long as I can remember, and “Best guess” tended to be the answer. A recent announcement has been made by RPS that should partially address this issue.
With effect from 12 April 2021 employees with variable pay are being asked to calculate their entitlements based upon their 52-week average rate of pay. I say, “Partially” because no computer system can fully address the large divergence in vocations and some employees could actually lose out. For example, if you were paid commissions based upon holiday bookings, it is fair to assume earnings have been lower than normal over the past 52 weeks due to the pandemic restrictions. Conversely, an estate agent may have seen an increase in their earnings due to the suspension of stamp duty enhancing property sales. The question is, will RPS make an exceptional allowance for the impact of COVID? I would suggest unlikely.
Should predictions be correct once the Government support programmes end, corporate insolvencies will increase and no doubt, the media will make plenty of noise over the scale of redundancies inherit with corporate failure and restructuring. This prediction will place RPS under considerable pressure and payment target times will be challenged as a result, exposing those made redundant to a difficult time while they await entitlements.
Should you have an insolvency-related issue then please contact me at PBC Business Recovery & Insolvency on (01604) 212150 (Northampton office) or (01234) 834886 (Bedford office). Alternatively, you may send an email to garypettit@pbcbusinessrecovery.co.uk or access our website at www.pbcbusinessrecovery.co.uk