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Guarantee pay
If an employer fails to provide work for an employee (ie, lays them off), in most cases, they must pay guarantee pay for five days of lay-off in any period of three months. The right to guarantee pay can be enforced through an employment tribunal. Specialist help should be obtained. A client who is dismissed for seeking to enforce this right is entitled to claim unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal, regardless of the length of their service.
Guarantee pay is taken into account as earnings for means-tested benefits.
For further details, see the guidance on guarantee pay at gov.uk/lay-offs-short-timeworking/guarantee-pay.