Unbelievable isn't it? On no level does it make any sense, even on an IT level.
My former employer sent out fake phishing emails to check whether employees were adequately trained on spotting which emails weren't genuine and potentially preventing people downloading viruses and malware on to work computers.
It would be interesting to see what the text was. If it says "Click here to claim your bonus" or whatever, then it just shows people are not thinking before they're clicking. Who has ever had to click a link for a bonus: normally you get told about it and it appears in your bank account - you don't have to claim it.
Indeed. Your employer has your bank account details so if you were getting a cash bonus you'd likely get an email from HR or your line manager saying the bonus will appear on your next payslip. If the bonus was a gift voucher and you could choose which retailer then if it was via a form it would just need your work email and choice of retailer, as HR would have your other personal details already.
Also be interesting to know if there were any red flags with the emails that should have had recipients questioning it before they got excited e.g. a reference to London Midland or Govia in the text.
That said the fake phishing email could be have been better thought out.
It could be nothing to do with tax: I strongly suspect that if you (an employer) buy enough gift vouchers then you'll get a discount, as the voucher company will (a) expect a fraction of them never to be redeemed and (b) have the money upfront now but not need to pay out until redemption, and so will be able to make a profit even with a discount.
A lot of big companies sign up to schemes like Reward Gateway which allow employees to buy vouchers for retailers at a discount. Reward Gateway say there's no cost to the employer for these vouchers. So if the bonus is a £100 voucher and the selected retailers are offering 5% discount and you have 250 employees then that's a £1250 saving for the business over a cash bonus.
That is legally on highly dubious grounds.
Depends on their contract.
When the government announced the furlough scheme they said furloughed employees may continue to take part in training while on furlough but they must receive at least minimum wage for any hours training. So someone earning £15/hour could get the government funded payment paying 80% of their normal wages and undertake training while on furlough but someone on minimum wage needed the furlough payment topped up by the employer to be able to undertake training. The reason behind it being those on furlough generally aren't working so don't need to earn at least the minimum wage for the number of hours they would work but those undertaking training are working.