I am Chantal Baker, Director and founder of Champ Consultants. We are accountants and tax consultants based in Caterham. We are looking forward to providing you with business and finance tips as well as answering your questions.
Question:
Can I start my own business while I am on furlough?
Answer:
With lots of people on furlough since March, I have come across this question on numerous occasions. The furlough scheme is set in place until October 2020 and I expect this question may come up again in the future, even with some employees being taken back part time from July 2020.
You are permitted to work elsewhere and even to start your own business while on furlough, subject to various conditions. The main condition that needs to be considered whether you are taking another job or are starting a new business, is that the new position is not in breach of your employment contract.
The main conditions that you may need to consider are: working for a competitor, working in direct competition with your employer or even the locality of the new position. All these matters will be covered in your employment contract.
You should not take work with another employer within your normal working hours. Example, if you finish work at 5pm usually, you can start working on your new business in the evenings.
If starting a business is something you are considering, check out our article in the January 2020 issue of The Caterham & District Independent Newspaper for some start up tips.
Happy to receive your questions for future answers in The Caterham & District Independent Newspaper. You can email your questions to:
info@champconsultants.co.uk Please follow Champ Consultants on the various social media channels.
