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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to ask, for those whose employers have furloughed staff...

77 replies

StartingGrid · 20/05/2020 21:37

Is it financially motivated (and there is still work for them) - vote YABU
or is it literally within the guidelines of the scheme and preventing redundancy - vote YANBU

I am just wondering how many other people are working themselves into the ground while large percentages of their colleagues are furloughed, and how widely interpreted (abused) this scheme is? Appreciate it could be in anticipation of revenue shortage forthcoming but that doesn't help those in the thick of it struggling daily to keep up 😣

Sorry for posting here, didn't think you could enable polls elsewhere

OP posts:
daydreamer45 · 22/05/2020 14:34

My DH's company have furloughed 4 of 9 staff, everyone else is working from home. Of the 4, one has a family member with terminal cancer, one has no internet access and one is over 70, The other has 5 children at home so is happy to be furloughed. The remaining 5 are busy but it's doable at present. Costs did need to be cut and the decision was made between all the staff, there are no hard feelings between those working and those not.

lyralalala · 22/05/2020 14:52

Where DS works PT half of the staff have been furloughed because they cannot safely all work.

Topping up furloughed staff to 100% whilst reducing working staff to 80% is absolutely shocking!

DH's work fucked up in a similar way. They imposed a 25% pay cut on everyone.

Then furlough was announced so they furloughed a load of people. Those on furlough are getting 80%, those still working are still getting 75%.

Those working have been told very firmly that they shouldn't see not being furloughed as being at less risk of eventual redundancy because it will be roles, not people, that are made redundant.

DH is working and can cover 3 departments because of his skill set. However, when it comes to redundancy each dept will be looked at separately and it's likely his role (niche and expensive) will be cut so he'll be out.

thatsforsure · 22/05/2020 18:34

i run a charity - our income from some sources has been cut - we have had to furlough about 1/3 of staff - I am working very hard - could do with help but cant afford it

TazSyd · 22/05/2020 18:40

@NatashaAlianovaRomanova

Have you reported them to HMRC, anonymously?

NatashaAlianovaRomanova · 22/05/2020 18:42

@TazSyd It would be very obvious it was me as I'm the only one dealing with furlough calculations & claims

Waxonwaxoff0 · 22/05/2020 18:43

I'm furloughed. There are 5 of us in my office and only one person is in working at the moment. There isn't the work coming in, we manufacture for high street retailers and they are all closed at the moment. I'll definitely be first out the door for redundancy as I'm part time, I've only been working there 2 years and I'm the most junior staff member so anyone else can do my job if they aren't busy.

TazSyd · 22/05/2020 18:55

@NatashaAlianovaRomanova

Not necessarily, it could have been one of your clients employees. It’s anonymous. Have a look at the form and see what you feel comfortable putting on there.

So many people are reporting misuse of this scheme but refusing to do anything about it.

Merryoldgoat · 22/05/2020 18:58

My employer is neither of those. No work for the furloughed employees but they wouldn’t have been made redundant if furlough wasn’t available.

SquigglePigs · 22/05/2020 19:05

I work in consultancy - environment and engineering. A lot of our clients can't progress their projects or their own staff are furloughed so our workload has dropped notably. All these work streams should pick back up once things settled down so it's definitely saving jobs.

NatashaAlianovaRomanova · 22/05/2020 19:16

@TazSyd thanks - I'll have a look at the form.

The stress keeps me awake at night - we have clients who aren't eligible thinking they are being palmed off with excuses & promises that claims will be submitted (they have employees who are relying on the money but it won't be coming) then we have clients who are clearly submitting fraudulent claims.

chipshopElvis · 22/05/2020 19:21

DH is furloughed as his place of work has shut down completley under gov instruction.

TazSyd · 22/05/2020 19:28

@NatashaAlianovaRomanova

I reported a landlord once. I made the form sound like it wasn’t a tenant doing the reporting.

We’re all going to be paying fir this for years, whether that’s cuts in services or tax increases. The fraudulent behaviour really needs to be reported.

francienolan · 22/05/2020 19:34

My industry has been shut down so we have no income.

I think it will be very difficult for my industry to recover, if it ever does. I'm job hunting outside the industry. It's sad because I devoted my life to it, but I'm on a fixed term contract and I just don't think there will be income for companies to hire new roles of what I do for a very long time.

francienolan · 22/05/2020 19:35

**so we have no income and the majority of staff are furloughed

yelyah22 · 22/05/2020 19:53

We furloughed to save jobs and have been actively planning to get everyone back in (once anything at all happens in our industry - workload is maybe 5% of what it normally is).

It's become very apparent, however, that a few people's roles are at best part time or in some cases just no longer really there (partly thanks to roles developing or diminishing over the last few years, partly due to stuff we've implemented since lockdown that has automated large parts of various roles). So there will be a few redundancies coming but not because of coronavirus, just because we simply never really had time to stop and check how much work they've actually got now things have changed since they started or whether or not we could be making efficiencies.

Di11y · 22/05/2020 20:19

I think it's a shame that more employers aren't swapping staff onto and off furlough (unless childcare or shielding etc) it's for a min of 3 weeks so could have done it half each.

it'll soon be offered part time so maybe all staff could be furloughed and on part time hours

YeahWhatevver · 22/05/2020 20:20

My employer sent a load of UK work offshore to our India office and has furloughed the UK staff who had work to do but now don't.

100% motivated by the "free money"

nancy75 · 22/05/2020 20:27

Work for a tiny business, providing group sports lessons. We have cancelled every single thing the business does, there is not a single penny coming in to the business & it will be one of the last things to restart. My boss is the only person left working (it’s his business) he couldn’t afford to pay me & even if I was at work there is nothing for me to do.

BestOption · 22/05/2020 21:41

I'm furloughed. I'm definitely not needed at the moment. I'm not sure, I might be needed over the summer, but maybe not from September (that was on the cards anyway) I'm Very vulnerable (But not shielded - though that might change) . It would be pretty risky going back for the summer, so I will need to risk assess at the time. I need the money (I live alone, mortgage & bills all down to me) & obviously being made redundant would be better than resigning

I won't get another job doing what I do, paid what I'm paid. But I'm
'only' early 50's, so a long way off pension age!

I'm trying to think of something I can do working for myself again, but I'm all out of ideas

It's a bit of a clusterfuck tbh.

nanbread · 22/05/2020 22:06

I'd say somewhere in between for mine.

We lost two projects I was due to work on in March, the bosses furloughed the (small) project teams. They have lost a chunk of revenue but I think they could have scraped by keeping us on. I would be scrabbling around trying to find things to do if I'd been kept on though, which probably would put me at risk of redundancy as it highlights I've got nothing to do...

Saxineno · 22/05/2020 22:21

It's a mixture where I work. They have furloughed some of my team, I requested to be and wasn't and I am bitter about it.
They needed to save money. In the long run I don't think it would have come to redundancies, but will help us survive the crash that's coming.

ReincarnatedDodo · 22/05/2020 22:22

Financially motivated, someone else is doing most of my work but at half of the salary. This is because I arranged it like this (by doing no non essential work in the first three weeks of the furlough scheme whilst not being furloughed).

Also, the second part too - the person who is doing my role and is not furloughed needs 100% of salary for a mortgage application they've just submitted. Their work has dried up so it makes sense they do my role for both them and my employer, plus for me it is Ok as I am being topped up to 100 percent.

Spamellahamella · 22/05/2020 22:35

No, I work for a letting agency. There wasn't the work. It is starting to pick up again now so we will see what happens.

Munchietime · 22/05/2020 23:02

My DH is a departmental manager for an airline. They're operating 4 flights a week into the UK instead of the usual 80+. 80% of their operational staff are furloughed because there is no work if tnere are no flights. The airline is losing £100 million per month so the furlough is very much needed and may save jobs in the long term.

Nosurveysneeded · 23/05/2020 13:32

My friend's business has furloughed the ones with childcare problems and will keep them on furlough until their children return to school etc.

The ones still working are annoyed because they are covering the work of the furloughed. The work is there (but not quite as much) but some staff say they cannot come in since grandparents shielding and schools and nurseries shut so instead of taking holiday pay or unpaid her company have furloughed them and that saves her money.

My son has been furloughed but he works for a restaurant which is closed so that is due to no work being available at present.

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