To think there is a divide forming between furloughed and non furloughed workers

[FuckingFu]

I've heard so many people talking about how they are jealous of their furloughed colleagues. I've a friend who is furious because her company is making up the 20% and so her colleagues are 'sat at home doing nothing' and getting full pay whilst she's still working.

Whilst I do understand the jealousy and even frustration, I really am starting to hate the way it's being spoken about.

There seems to be a lot of talk about 'they'. They are sitting at home doing nothing, we'll be paying higher tax to cover their wages as if furloughed employees are some form sort of seperate, less superior group and a burden on the rest of us.

Personally, whilst I understand those feelings, I have had to say to myself well what would I prefer? I don't want my colleagues, friends and family being made redundant if that can be avoided. And if my company can afford to top up wages to 100% then good, I don't want people suffering financial hardship when it's unnecessary just so I don't have to feel jealous about it.

I want to say to my friend does she not realise that it could have been (and still could be) her being furloughed and not the person at the next desk over. This is something completely out of people's control, no one wants this (perhaps a minority are okay with being furloughed) but certainly no one chose it.

It's as if people think furloughed staff are all lazy bums who want to sit about and have everyone else fork out higher tax to cover them.

I don't want to pay higher tax either but if the alternative is thousands of unnecessary redundancies then what choice do we have.

Just seems to be a very them and us situation going on.

I was being tongue in cheek tbh. I'm busy at work but still look at Facebook.

Sorry. I didnt pick that up

Me too. Theres definitely been work related plus points to not being furloughed as well. Not just the income related benefit to still be working.

Theres pros and cons with both. But I am happy I am working.

@Shitsgettingcrazy Some of those people are clearly taking the piss. But there seems to be a lot of confusion around who is vulnerable and who is shielded. I have seen multiple people on MN and elsewhere saying they are in the shielded group, when actually they are in the vulnerable group.
I have also seen some people surprised when they get the letter saying they are in the shielded group.
I am in the shielded group and prior to this did not mention it to work because it does not affect my work and my health is none of their business. I believe in medical privacy and as long as it has no impact on my work, I am not the type to tell others personal details they don't need to know.

cantory correct. But these people aren't even in the vulnerable category.

Due to the nature of our work the have medicals every year. They are legally obliged to disclose medical issues. Because if they get ill on a job, peolle are at risk. Many have no history or proof of any medical issues. So therefore, not even vulnerable. They are happy on furlough and want to continue on furlough.

I totally understand wanting to keep you emdicak history private. Bit if it impacts your ability to do your job, then it does need disclosing.

As I said, those who are sheilding will remoan on furlough for as long as possible. The company is then planning on being in a position to continue to pay their wages after.

However, if you would be unable to do your job for a minimum or 12 weeks, it really is something your employer needs to know.

Being furloughed is depressing and anxiety inducing. You feel like you are of no value, you are not liked, you are unwanted, your work is poor quality or irrelevant. You feel like you are probably going to be made redundant, but no one is going to want to employ you and hardly anyone is recruiting anyway.

This would my exact reaction to being furloughed.

Being one if the non furloughed, is depressing and anxiety inducing.

Luckily, I have a few non furlughed colleagues that I can talk to and they come to me for support.

Its for completely different reasons. But beinf the ones trying to hold a company together, isnt great for peolles mental health either.

But, in both cases, that's because of the people running the company. Not colleagues.

I was an agency worker, who worked anything from 3.5 to 5 days a week. I'm furloughed at 80% of my weekly average wage, which isn't a huge lot. I've also lost a little cash in hand job I had...
All in, I'm down about £500 a month. I have good savings, so I don't qualify for universal credit. I can JUST ABOUT make my money stretch, so I hope I won't be too out of pocket when this is all done.
But I'd much rather be working! Even if there's nothing to spend my money on at the moment!

I've also lost a little cash in hand job I had...

If you weren't paying tax on that you have no sympathy whatsoever from me. If you were paying tax, then this would be covered by the self employed scheme surely?

Tax avoiders are part of why out NHS is so badly funded (that and government policy).

Receptacle, I don’t know how much the PP earns via her cash in hand job, but if it’s less than £1,000 pa then she/he would not have to submit a tax return or pay tax on that income anyway. See the trading allowance rule for self employed people. Not all self employed people are tax dodgers!

I'm sick of hearing it too. My partner has been furloughed and got a letter at the start of this week basically telling all staff that the company may not be able to stay open after June and even if they do they will be on a skeleton staff so they "have no problem if staff find work elsewhere".
It's a very stressful time for us.
On the other hand my sisters partner is a key worker and has to come home from work, strip in the shed where their washing machine is, go straight for a hot shower and only then can he see her and their toddler, who of course, doesn't understand why daddy can't come and give him cuddles straight away.

In short, I think its had for everyone but I'm also getting sick of the "all the furloughed workers getting to sit on their arse all day" comments all over social media.

@GlummyMcGlummerson Our work place have now decided to do this. I go back to work on Wednesday and I can’t wait. Furlough pay barely covers my mortgage and service charge.

It's hardly the workers fault if they're furloughed. I'd rather be furloughed but lost my job due to the virus and a future job offer was withdrawn. Don't be bitter - if you're working, you're more secure!

I dont blame the furloughed staff for sitting home doing nothing on 80 % pay while i work bloody hard.
I don't blame them.for staying home with their kids while I work and cant see mine.
If id been offered the summer off and no travel costs id have snapped their hand off!
But I kind of feel im working for 20 %
So I am a little jealous too.

There does seem to be some divide developing where I work, at least in some parts of the business. Mainly seems to be where there are poor managers to begin with, whose choice of whom should be on furlough is baffling.

I have no problem with furloughing of staff, it's by far the best way to secure a business will be viable. In my workplace there are cleaners and catering staff who simply have no work, they also earn lower wages and I'm pleased our company is topping up to 100%. However, it's hard to swallow when you are someone like me who isn't furloughed and I'm picking up virtually all of my furloughed colleagues work.. I'm working 4-5 hours extra per day at home and knackered, while said furloughed colleague is on full wages doing no work at home. They haven't even had the curtesy to send me a message to ask if everything is ok.

FuckingFu - of course I understand that it is the furloughed staffs fault they were chosen and I k ow they might be the first in line for any redundancies. It's more about how they are behaving since being furloughed. If they have a job or role in a company which means someone else has to pick their work up, a bit of thanks goes along way.
I, like many also have young children at home all doing home schooling, a husband trying to run his own business.. it's tough.

My husband is the only one in his lab wprking full time still. The boss is in his late 80s and his lab tech is 70s so it makes sense they can't come in at all, and he wanted my hisnand to take over for him in overseeing the place. Because my husband is at risk with several conditions, he asked that the other two young, healthy guys in the lab be furloughed on full pay to avoid putting him at risk. The animal facility staff are doing alternate weeks to avoid risk of infecting each other.

It is so frustrating. I know why my hisbamd has to do this, but at first he was in 7 days a week and consodering his boss is the kind to guilt trip you if you dare to use annual holiday time or take saturdays off, I was so looking forward to having him home. He only took 5 vacation days last year.

I don't see why the working staff shouldn't be jealous of the furloughed ones. Sure, why not put guilt on them for feeling whatever kind of way they feel... how does that help?

For us, it feels like we always miss out kn anything positive while still getting the negatives. So we didn't get the stimulus money, when we should have had $1,700. Because I don't have a social security number and we filed taxes jointly. The rest of the lab will have received theirs. And we have already been told property and employment tax will go up next year to help cover the city's losses.

There seems to be a lot of talk about 'they'. They are sitting at home doing nothing, we'll be paying higher tax to cover their wages as if furloughed employees are some form sort of seperate, less superior group and a burden on the rest of us.

What those people forget is that they will also be paying higer taxes to cover the benefits bill for all their friends/collegues that will be made redundant if furlough weren't in existence (esp as there are literally no other jobs to go to), something which they, as a non -furloughed staff member, don't have to sit at home all day for months worrying about!!

Furloughed staff are still being taxed on their furlough payments, paying for their own furlough as it were.....

I took Unpaid carers leave as I live with a shielded person whom I care for and I don’t qualify for any government help so have been living on savings since March.

When all this is over I fully expect to have to pay more tax to fund the various government schemes but once again I have received nothing to help me.
But it is not worth moaning about as I am lucky I had the choice to take the leave plenty of others who probably also have vulnerable people in their household didn’t have that choice as they didn’t have savings to fall back on. My savings won’t last forever so it looks like I will have to go back soon but hopefully the risks are lower as the r rate has fallen quite a bit in my area.

I was furloughed. I hated it. Am delighted to be back at work. Delighted for my colleagues who are enjoying furlough and are still on it. Can't understand anyone being a dick about it either way tbh.

DP is on furlough at 100% pay. I’m working full-time with a 10% pay cut. I’d rather be me and have a sense of security than him but that doesn’t stop me being envious of all his leisure time!

My workplace hasn't closed and has plenty of work. Some of my colleagues are furloughed because the are shielding, that's understandable. There are others who are furloughed because they don't drive and now they can't get a lift. It's only 40 minutes on a bike. They are all single adults with no responsibilities. We have people still working who are over 60 and people who are vulnerable or have vulnerable family members. That's not at all fair.

I'm jealous my friends are furloughed and I have to go to work everyday and have no time to homeschool

From speaking to friends in different industries, it can sometimes feel like furloughed people are making non furloughed peoples working life harder ie finding old paperwork and calling up, we’ve had several furloughed people coming into my work To do really non essential trans a Arizona with comments such as ‘I need to find things to do’ - we’re already queued from opening to closing every day!

I have been v jealous of staff that have been furloughed on full pay. That was until my company announced they will have to make redundancies. Now I'm grateful for every shift. Jobs by me are really hard to find at the moment