It’s now been confirmed that mixed practices will be able to furlough staff in proportion to their private income. This is a relief for practice owners needing to make decisions about their businesses and to reassure their employees. We’re still waiting for the detail, but the Chief Dental Officer’s webinar on Friday evening suggested that if your private income was 50% for the year ending March 2019, then you will be able to furlough up to 50% of your monthly payroll cost.
As ever, you should seek advice from a lawyer or HR specialist before furloughing your employees. They need to agree to these changes, and you will need to follow it up in writing to them.
The BDA has released the attached template, which we hope you find helpful.
PMcE Template letter to employees – fuloughed workers
At this stage, our understanding is that associates should be paid in full for their NHS income, based on their contracted UDAs (pro-rata) less a deduction for lab costs, materials and superannuation. If your associates don’t have contracted UDAs, you should base their income on the average of their previous 12 months’ pay.
The NHS previously announced that NHS dentists wouldn’t qualify for government support during the COVID-19 pandemic. If your local authority sends you an application form for the small business grant of £10,000, it’s worth applying for it although it isn’t clear if you will be eligible for it. We’ll update you further once we have more information.
If you have any questions regarding this, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Tom Bostock, our Dentist Specialist here at Mitten Clarke.
