Commission now included in furlough scheme

Compulsory commission payments are now included in the Government’s Job Retention Scheme. Further details of the ‘furlough’ initiative were released on Saturday, 4 April.

Car retailers can claim for regular payments including wages, past overtime, fees and compulsory commission payments.

Discretionary commission is still excluded, but ASE chairman Mike Jones says that for most salespeople, commission is not discretionary, it’s part of a contractual pay plan for selling cars, finance plans and such like.

For employees working for 12 months or more whose pay varies, furlough claims are for average monthly earnings over the 2019-20 tax year. Those employed for less than 12 months claim for 80% of their earnings since they started. Those who started in February 2020 should work out a pro-rata for earnings so far and claim for 80%.