The Guidance says that employees should not be placed on furlough merely because they are on short-term sick leave, or self-isolating. But they can be furloughed if there are business reasons for doing so. However, employers cannot claim both the two week coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay rebate and the furlough grant in respect of the same period of absence.
If an employee becomes ill while on furlough, the Guidance says that “it is up to employers to decide whether to move these employees onto Statutory Sick Pay or to keep them on furlough, at their furloughed rate.”