To think that as I am furloughed, my employer shouldn’t be expecting me to be spending my time doing training courses?

[Anquin]

I’ve been furloughed for 8 weeks and am likely to remain on furlough for another few weeks. My boss wants me to pick online courses to do which will benefit the Company if or when I return to work.
At the same time, the senior management are sending weekly updates that are increasingly negative about the future of the Company.
I find it extremely difficult to self-learn, and I’m becoming more worried about the future as I think I might be made redundant. My immediate boss keeps asking how the training is going (we have meetings weekly to catch up) and I’m getting really upset and anxious about it.
AIBU to think that if I’m on furlough I should be able to spend my day at home doing gardening etc. without worrying about training?

@winniestone37

Legally on Furlough you should not be doing any work including training.

Please do provide a link on the law for this?

This thread is making me so cross, how do so many posters not get the simplest feature of the scheme

If it sounds like you might be about to lose your job you would be mad not to grab all of the training you can whilst furloughed and your employer is paying for it. If you lose your job others who did do the training will be ahead of you in employment queue. If you are unemployed you will have everyday to do gardening.

They are trying to save their business - the one that pays your wages (and they still pay national insurance and tax for you). So should you sabotage that by not being able to do the extra tasks that could make a difference?

Of course not! Just do your garden and ignore them. Like my staff are doing. Although I will be making them redundant very soon because I'm sick of people who want everything and to give nothing.

I'm sure the benefits system will work out just fine for you.

You are not allowed to work but you are allowed to do on going training. The company is allowed to ask you to do this.

www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-could-be-covered-by-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Straight from the horses mouth. This clarifies you can legally be asked to train on furlough

@NoHardSell

Oh God

Is this another pisstake thread? Yes, op, you absolutely should be allowed to sit on your arse at home on full pay benefits, or pootle around doing some gardening. It's outrageous that you are expected to do anything on your six month taxpayer funded holiday.

Could not have put it better myself but I will add... have you heard of empathy?! How the fuck do you think those of us in key roles feel when we join a meeting with our furloughed colleagues chatting about their endless fucking gardening, baking, decorating, crafting & Netflix binges?!

@SunshineCake

YABVVVU and short sighted. If you are worried about being made redundant then surely refusing to engage in training puts you at the top of the list! And no, furlough isn't a paid holiday.

So many people don't want to go back to work , scared to, won't send their kids to school bout us lie on funding beaches or crowd into parks.

Yep. You are lucky to still have a job.

I truly hope this is a reverse! People are out of work, myself included and desperately trying to refrain to improve our chances of getting back into the job market. My parents are helping with the cost of a qualification as I’m living on benefits and my husbands salary is keeping us going with bills! I have a friend who is furloughed and feels so guilty about getting paid for nothing she’s been volunteering by befriending local elderly people who are isolated. Some people are takers and others are givers. With an attitude like that, I suspect it won’t be long before you’re on here moaning about being laid off. Maybe then you’ll appreciate the chance you had to top up your skills. With the job market as it is, be thankful you have an employer who is encouraging you to keep your skills up! Some of us would chew their hand off!

@Vodkacranberryplease have you asked your staff to do training and they've said no?!
I am currently on furlough, I don't want to be and my company have announced redundancies this week. One of my team have gone (albeit voluntary due to changes in our future work environment). We have been explicitly told we are not to log onto our work systems by HR. Given my job role, training is very specific via my company and not in the general offerings of online courses available. My furlough is likely to be extended until July. If my work were to ask me to do some online training, of course I would do it but some of the replies and attitudes to those of us on (unchosen!) furlough are just nasty. It's not our fault! I would 100% rather be at work, than trying to home school an autistic school work hating child, with the 2 hours plus of arguments that ensue.

I honestly thought you were joking? Furlough means you really still employed fully. They can ask you to do training, you are getting paid to so training.. when else in your life would you get this opportunity?

As a MD I'm not sure if you appreciate furlough isn't free to the business, directors of your business won't be getting jack shit from the government to help them personally, they will trying to sleep at night to to work ways of keeping the business they have spent years building, sacrificed home time and life events for.

And you want more time to garden and don't want to do some training? Honestly I give up.

You'll have plenty of time for gardening if this is your attitude. Honestly!

@SunshineCake

YABVVVU and short sighted. If you are worried about being made redundant then surely refusing to engage in training puts you at the top of the list! And no, furlough isn't a paid holiday.

So many people don't want to go back to work , scared to, won't send their kids to school bout us lie on funding beaches or crowd into parks.

@Anquin - are you being f* serious? As the PP and so others said, there are courses you can take which are paid by the company, which might or might NOT has to make you redundant due to the current crisi and THEY are trying to help you to be in a better position ? how very dare day?

Some people just really, really dont, do not deserve any help!

You infuriates people how dont have that luxory!

OP I think you've been given a really hard time here.

I understand what you are saying, entirely. I am furloughed, my employer are not topping us up they have told us that we are obligated to undertake 50% of our hours as training. They said they'd like us to do more, but they were advised that as we are all paid so little, we may end up dipping below nmw.

I would love to be at work. In daft I'd happily work from home. My job is essentially still there, but my employer would rather have the money from the government as my office role is funded by the wider business which isn't currently revenue making.

I am happy enough undertaking training, in principle. However, as they will not pay for any training, we can only do courses which are free, or paid for ourselves and which directly benefit the business. For example I suggested a course that would be interesting and offered to pay for it myself, I was told that I could do it in my spare time, but as it was not directly relevant to my role, it wouldn't count towards my 'hours'. It was entirely rekevant to the business, albeit a paygtafe or two above me.

The free courses are, in general low quality and short. With no beneficial information, CPD points or actual qualifications. My direct manager is on the senior team and he admits that there is little benefit, but he can't stand the idea of people doing nothing.

Never mind that all, yes ALL my colleagues are volunteering for the local community groups and helping individuals who are also our service users (we are a charity). I would suggest that allowing staff to spend more time doing this and raising the profile of the charity would actually be more beneficial.

My husband is working full time at home (on a reduced salary) and we have two children of an age where they are homeschooling and need constant support. We have timetabled the day to allow both of us to get work tasks done. I'm focused and enjoy learning and despite this, it is STILL hard to stay motivated, under taking low quality, independent training that you know is unlikely to benefit anyone.

You could all do with fmgetting off your high horses.

You're getting paid and you're whining about doing a little on-line training for your job? I know Americans get accused of being pathetic workaholics, but it does seem possible to me that some of my friends across the pond seem quite invested in slacking off.

My husband's employer specifically told them NOT to do online training as furloughed employees were not permitted to do anything that would benefit the company!

@BackBoiler

My husband's employer specifically told them NOT to do online training as furloughed employees were not permitted to do anything that would benefit the company!

They have misunderstood , it's not that it can't benefit the company it's that they can't be earning money for the company. The employer is missing a trick.

My husband's employer specifically told them NOT to do online training as furloughed employees were not permitted to do anything that would benefit the company!

They're wrong. How about people actually read the very simple, easy to read guidelines on Gov.uk?

You should be working hard on the training, if the company collapses at least you will then have something useful to put on your CV and might even get a better job.
As the others said furlough is not a holiday. Work should always be a priority over gardening and everything else.
I have been working non stop in the NHS over this whole period and my employer expects me to do loads of online courses on top of that in my own time.

If you have problems with on line training like I did as it's so easy to get distracted or put yourself down by thinking you not good enough like I did..I did an hour to start with took a little break had a cuppa did a bit of tidying up then went back to it and I found after a few weeks I was spending more than an hour without realising and not putting myself under pressure to be great

I think if a firm is struggling you need to be increasing your employability to remain with that company or evidence your drive to improve for a prospective employer.

It can only be a positive when you return. The OU has some free courses that may be helpful to some.

I'd be delighted to be offered training. What's the issue?

tootle you'd be delighted, what? With any training? Even low quality free courses?

Yes you can be asked to complete training if they request that of you as you are receive furlough in order to keep your job. They can only ask you to work for 80% of the time though.
It's good to keep up training in these uncertain times, being furloughed is not having time off, otherwise don't accept the pay.

Everyone on furlough should do as much training as they can squeeze in (even if on furlough for childcare reasons - apart from significant special needs, there are some free hours).
We will hire from september on, and will definitely ask what people have done during furlough. Doing training courses will count heavily in favour of candidates. doing gardening- not really.

Thanks so much to those posters thebearsbunny and those who have empathy with those of us who face redundancy . A lot of employees would love to be working right now . Please remember that those of us who have been furloughed don’t have a choice in the matter . So please don’t sit in judgement , have some compassion , this is Mumsnet . I’m a working mum and I face the loss of my income like so many others . We will go from being tax and national insurance payers to being unemployed .