The minimum period for which an employee could be furloughed under the original Scheme was three weeks. It was permissible to furlough employees multiple times, making it possible to rotate periods of furlough among different groups of staff.
Since 1 July, under the new more flexible arrangements, there has no longer been a minimum period and rotating furlough arrangements remaining permissible. However, the minimum period for which a claim can be made is a week.
The claim period must start and end within the same calendar month: if the pay period includes days in more than one month, separate claims will need to be submitted covering the days that fall into each month.