To think my work are being unreasonable

[Yellowskies1988]

Factoty key worker.

Nobody on site form. HR for 3 weeks now only via phone.

I want to be furlough-ed as my wife has been told via letter to shield For 12 weeks as she has a terminal wasting disease

My son is 8 and autistic so he is also vulnerable.

Work are aware of my issues at home, I changed my shift pattern in Feb to accommodate my wife's illness showing symptoms.

I have no idea how to even formally request furlough for myself I cannot afford £96 per week sick pay to live on

I've spoken to HR on the phone at home when I have finished my shift, not during my work hours. Which I am extremely busy at home given the current global situation. They basically said they not obliged to pay me if I'm off... The factoty employs over 500 people accross 3 shifts. We are still not segregated from other shifts, we hand over and onto the pervious/next shift face to face. They staggered 50% of my shift to start 30 mins early every shift but thta was via text message with 36 hours notice that's all.

I'm petrified guys as I lost my mum to swine flu 10 years ago, she was 45 so this covid19, although not identical is still bringing back memories and making me anxious. My mental state and physical state is warring thin.

Please, any advice

imgur.com/gallery/w10g8fb

I found these 4 pages are the closest advice to my situation

I am afraid you can’t request to be furloughed if there is still a job for you to do. If you don’t work in these circumstances they don’t have to pay you. Furloughing is where there is no job to do. I don’t know what to suggest but I’m sorry about your situation, it sounds very tough

@oly4

I can request as wife has been told to shield. Link in 2nd post is from gov.uk.

Yes you can be furloughed for reasons other than there being no work. But your employer must agree.

See attached.

Oly4 that's not true. You can be furloughed for a number of reasons, including being unable to do the job due to child care (or lack of it).

OP get an email address for HR and write down succinctly (bullet points may help) the reasons you need to be furloughed. Attached a link to the government guidance and a copy (photograph if needs be) of your wife's shielding letter.

Are you in a union?

You can request and your employer can say no. There is nothing you can do to force them to furlough you.

@feelinguseless78

Yes I'm in the union. Have been for 6 years. Should I call them tomorrow/speak to my department manager?

HR have seen a copy of the letter I general chat whilst they have been looking into it but I haven't formally requested furlough.

I have an email for one of the HR staff but their isn't a general HR dep email.. Im a wrong to think that they should be on site atleast once a week

I have shielding person at home & I have ASD child.

My option is to use my holiday entitlement or take unpaid leave. I am equally petrified. My only option to not work would be for GP to sign me off with anxiety.
It’s shit. I’ve googled, asked on here, read ACAS advice. Never any different response. An employer only needs to furlough you IF there is no work for you to do. It sounds as if there is work that needs doing so they don’t need to furlough you, would be nice if they did though, but this shielding is not going to just be for 12 weeks.

I’m holding on for the advice for shielding partners to change. All you can do is change clothes before you leave work, strip off as soon as you get home, put clothes straight in the washer and shower immediately. Shielding person should, where practically possible, sleep separately and be in their own room, not mix with you, use kitchen alone, bathroom should be cleaned after you have used it........ I know you probably know all this, & it’s a really awful situation all round.

I wish there were provisions for the household members of a shielded person. There isn’t.

I'm so sorry for your situation. You are falling between the available options, I suspect:

• sick pay (you could get stat sick pay for self-isolating, that your employer could reclaim) But you have said that isn't enough for you to live on.
• dependents' leave (you're entitled to unpaid parental leave to look after your child; as they have a disability you can book this in single days, rather than blocks of a week) But this doesn't solve your financial issue.
• furlough is a solution to be used when there is no work for an employee to do and they would otherwise be looking at redundancy. It can't be used for employees who don't want to come in, even if they have really good reasons. If there is work for you to do, then your employer can't furlough you.

I think some of the guidance has been confusing. It says that people with caring responsibilities can be furloughed. But what it means is, people who are at risk of redundancy can be furloughed, and that it includes people who are carers or people who are shielding.

Are there any other benefits you could apply for, to boost your income if you took a drop in salary?
You could also contact your HR team and ask to be considered, if they are looking at furloughing some of the team. If there is a drop in activity across your workplace and they start to look at furloughs for part of the workforce, you could ask them to keep you in mind as it would also help your home situation.
The only other thing I can think of is to ask whether you could be temporarily redeployed - are there any other jobs within your workplace that would let you work more on your own, and feel safer?

I have even spoken to the hospital department DP attends.
“There is currently no government provision for the partners of shielding patients”

Lots of potential employment law issues for the company if they pick and choose who they furlough, it’s meant to be there as an alternative to redundancy if you would otherwise have been let go.

@Imboredinthehouse

Seems like your wearing the same shoes as me. I'm pertifeied. No social distancing is taking place. Pre shift people still loitering in the only corridor onto the factory floor. Work really not making it as safe as they can without losing a little production.

@mutteringdarkly I've looked into all other fanancial sources but nothing aside from HR advising me to ring grocery aid, a company they pretty much states what it is In the title. Its a fresh food packaging company so it's pretty constant all the time. I'm a little aggrieved that HR not on site for 3 weeks, even if they do a day each with Pre arranged appointments.

I'm just starting to loose the plot a little bit with not really being "rejected" as I've not formally requested furlough YET. But at how my work hasn't really taken enough measures to protect us

If HR can work from home, the government advice is for them to do do rather than be on site.

they have been looking into it but I haven't formally requested furlough.

Make a formal request asap and definitely speak with your union rep. If that doesn't work, you should consider sick pay for this reason: - My mental state and physical state is warring thin -even if it is just for a bit of head space to get on top of things again.

@Imboredinthehouse yeah I've seen the same regarding partners who shield "no government provisions" which kind of defeats the objective when the carer/spouse has to go to work still, don't you think?

If you are your wife's main carer and she is shielding then you are entitled to be furloughed. If she doesn't need care and can live independently then unfortunately you don't meet the requirements. It's not your employer being difficult; if you don't meet the requirements they will not be reimbursed by HMRC.

is your company furloughing anyone?
I agree that it is really hard on you, but if they aren't, applying to furlough a single person, particularly when they have work for you to do, could prove a huge administrative burden.

@inthemuckheap

She is shielding via govement request in a letter. 12 weeks in the house. The letter states that it's enough for her employer to not need a sick note as the letter is evidence she is to shield thus will cover her income.

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay
Nobody from the factory floor I'm unaware of anybody "upstairs" as we don't mix. But they can all work from home I suppose.
Their are alot of people self isolating and allegedly getting full wages whilst they do so for the 2 weeks but I can't see why work would pay them. The full wages and not sick pay.

Yes, speak to your union rep or branch.

Formally request furlough for the reasons stated.

No, HR shouldn't be on site. As few people as possible should be on site and anyone who can work from home should be doing.

You're in a terrible situation but I'm not sure that persisting with furlough is the right thing to do.

I would try and agree some other way to resolve it, I know things are changing all the time but afaik there is still no right for an employee to demand to be furloughed, better to look at other options now. Your union should be able to help.

I agree with others that it doesn’t sound like your role is suitable for furlough. In some companies they will be furloughing a proportion of the staff - in that situation you could argue to be in the furlough group because of your spouse.

If no one is being furloughed on the factory floor the situation is different. Your company can’t “furlough” you and hire someone to do your work.

In any event a company does not have to furlough anyone.

I would speak to your union and see in your care (particularly as your wife is terminally ill) if they would consider allowing you to be put on compassionate leave.

I'm sure you've posted about this before.

You can request furlough, but I would imagine that, unless they are already planning on furloughing staff, that your request will be turned down, as they have a job available for you to do.

You cannot force your employer to furlough you.

You could request a period of unpaid leave, or ask to use your annual leave.

In the meantime, you need to follow the guidance from the government and isolate away from your wife and children (in the same house) in order to keep them safe. Guidance is below.

^The rest of your household do not need to start shielding themselves, but they should do what they can to support you in shielding and to carefully follow guidance on social distancing.

At home you should:

Minimise the time other people living with you spend in shared spaces such as kitchens, bathrooms and sitting areas, and keep shared spaces well ventilated.

Keep 2 metres (3 steps) away from people you live with and encourage them to sleep in a different bed where possible. If you can, use a separate bathroom from the rest of the household. Use separate towels from the other people in your house, both for drying themselves after bathing or showering and for hand-hygiene purposes.

If you share a toilet and bathroom with others, it’s important that they are cleaned every time after use (for example, wiping surfaces you have come into contact with). Consider drawing up a rota for bathing, with you using the facilities first.

If you share a kitchen with others, avoid using it while they’re present. If you can, take your meals back to your room to eat. If you have one, use a dishwasher to clean and dry the family’s used crockery and cutlery. If this is not possible, wash them using your usual washing-up liquid and warm water and dry them thoroughly. If you are using your own utensils, remember to use a separate tea towel for drying these.

Everyone in your household should regularly wash their hands, avoid touching their face, and clean frequently touched surfaces.

If the rest of your household are able to follow this guidance, there is no need for them to take the full protective measures to keep you safe.^