To ask for another week of furlough?

[Fasttrack321]

I was furloughed at the start of lockdown and have not been working since end of March. I have been looking after my 2 young children full time as my DP has been working full time. Luckily DP's job is secure and their employer is flexible with WFH.

My furlough pay is capped at the limit of £2,500 and has not been topped up so my income has been about half of my normal pay. I am very grateful to have been furloughed rather than lose my job.

My employer wrote to me on Friday and informed me my furlough was ending and I was expected back to work on Monday. I discussed this with my DP (who is classed as a key worker, not front line) as the kids are only in part time childcare. DS is 5 and in Reception, DD is 3 and in nursery 3 days per week.

My DP is working full time 9-5 and cannot change working hours this week at such short notice. So cannot do drop off and pick up for the children (nursery and school are about 15 minutes drive apart). DP also cannot WFH and look after DD who is 3 and needs constant supervision.

This week will be impossible to juggle, but from the following week we can manage with flexible working hours and the help of a grandparent.

AIBU in asking my employer to extend my furlough by one more week? I checked the government guidance and there is a specific provision for this which allows furlough for those with caring responsibilities. I would only want this for 1 additional week.

I am incredibly grateful my employer has asked me to return and I do want to return. I have been there years and have a good reputation for being one of their top employers and managers.

My only other option would be to use a weeks annual leave, but then I'd have none left for the rest of the year and summer holidays when I would need to take leave to cover childcare again.

Most of the company were furloughed and now being brought back bit by bit.

YABU - get back to work immediately.
YANBU - take an extra week furlough to sort your childcare out.

You’re trying to use it because you didn’t get childcare sorted and your DP seems to think he can’t be flexible like everyone else has had to be during this crisis.

They didn’t get childcare sorted because they had a weekend’s worth of warning, though. If I tried to get my DH to rearrange ALL his work commitments for next week on Friday, I’d not be too mad if he couldn’t. It’s pretty unreasonable of her employer to not give more notice.

Sorry but you sound massively entitled. Take leave. Or take 4 days leave, and get your DP to take at least one. If he is WFH he can manage a few days doing both jobs. Some of us have done it for 12 weeks!

OP, have you not had any more communication with your employer during this about possible timescales for return to work? It’s not as simple as “can I be furloughed please for an amount of time I request” despite those guidelines and most people will have been finding out what plans were for coming back to work.

I a tually font think you're unreasonable. Finding out on friday youre back at work on monday when childcare needs organising is ridiculous.

@BabyofMine
I had to laugh at the idea that your partner couldn’t work from home for a week as the 3 year old needed constant supervision.

I’ve had to work from home since end of March with a two year old who requires constant supervision in a job that is customer facing all day long... for a fraction of the pay, because otherwise I lose the job. I’m sure he’d manage for one poxy week like myself and half the country have for the past three months.

Or is it just the women who are supposed to balance work, childcare and everything else

@ceeveebee
Totally agree. If the roles were reversed I bet there wouldn’t even be a conversation

Where have I mentioned anyone's gender in this scenario? You (and others) have made the assumption that I am female and my DP is male.

None of us had more than 3 days notice that they were shutting the schools. You've had 3 months to come up with a plan for if you were called back to work before school fully reopened. Our furlough staff were told that after the first 3 weeks they could be called back at short notice at any time.

And I've endured plenty of meetings with a child in my knee over the last 3 months. Your DP will just have to cope.

The furloughing for childcare reasons is so that employers can prioritize employees who have childcare problems without it being unlawful discrimination. They do not have to let anyone go on furlough, especially now they have to pay for it.

Where have I mentioned anyone's gender in this scenario? i had noticed you referred to your dp on the gender neutral plural, rather than her / his further up the thread.

FGS take annual leave and/ or get your partner to do some parenting.

If they haven’t officially “unfurloughed” you, I don’t see why you can’t speak to them and ask? You’ve been there a while; it’s only a week. Flexibility works both ways and you are obviously a loyal employee.

Two days is very short notice when you have childcare to arrange.

I think telling you on Friday that you have to return on Monday is shitty when you have childcare responsibilities and a partner. I've just brought people off furlough and I made sure those with childcare responsibilities had an opportunity to put arrangements in place. I mean, yes, they worked Monday to Friday before this, but everyone has cancelled things. I used to have a train season ticket for example - don't have one any more.

In the circumstances, I would think it reasonable to take Monday off as unpaid leave to make emergency arrangements to find childcare, but after that, I would expect a plan from you, whether it's annual leave or more unpaid leave.

@MushyPeasAreTheDevilsFood

I a tually font think you're unreasonable. Finding out on friday youre back at work on monday when childcare needs organising is ridiculous.

Ok at least one person is with me!

I’ll tell you what would go down best in my scenario - I’d tell my employer it was difficult for me to arrange at such short notice, but that I could do X days this week (the ones your DO could realistically rearrange or WFH with a small child around) and be back FT from the week after.

Compromise on all sides, everyone feels the other people are working in support not opposition.

I don't think people are being quite fair. Op and her dp earn around 4 times me and dh do, but with all the money in the world, it's organising child care at a weekend's notice that's tricky.
Yes, maybe OP should have been preparing to be ready for when she was called back, but in real terms, unless it's grandparents or other relatives, not many people will be able to drop everything at 2 days' notice.

And with the dp not being able to cope wfh and her, I suspect it's more that if both of them are working from home then one of them can go to the rescue at any one time whereas if it's just you always having to go and get the drink/wipe bottom/fetch Tibbles from the top of the wardrobe (goodness knows how he got there) it goes from just about possible to work round into not possible.

Could you ask for annual leave for say Monday and Tuesday, dp do his best/take off Wednesday and see if you can pull a couple of days of (returnable) favours or see if any friends have a uni student who is willing to do 2 days for a generous amount of pay? I know my dd would happily do 2 days with a cute 3yo if she knew them.

This will be happening to many families now as employers decide to take employees off furlough, particularly as anyone remaining on furlough will soon become a cost to the employer.

Why are posters jumping on @Fasttrack321 here? Because as a couple they earn so much?

Hire a nanny? That's helpful, how? Is there time to interview, check references, observe with the children?

I would personally ask for holiday or a short week. I understand what you say about the guidance op, however it does appear to be in bad taste to request this and the optics are not good. Good luck

It can’t have come as a complete surprise that you would need to go back to work sometime soon, and would therefore need to sort out childcare. You would think that two people capable of holding down jobs with higher-than average salaries would be capable of a bit of forward planning tbh.

They need to give you reasonable notice that they want you to return. One weekend is arguably not reasonable. When you were sent on furlough they should have written to tell you what your notice period for return was also.

What childcare could she sort out? Every single method of childcare we have used has been closed. We have no local family. I'm as creative as the next person but I can't send my child to a setting that is closed. Or should I leave them outside the school gates until they reopen?

Absolutely speak to your employer. Notice on a Friday for a Monday return is hardly adequate to organise any form of formal childcare.

Of course it's not reasonable to expect your dp to work from home and care for a 3yr old simultaneously, regardless of their gender. Nonetheless, this is exactly what many of us, myself included, have been doing since March. Tell him / her its going to be a tough week of interruptions and late nights for him / her and too little attention plus too much tv for your kid. It's that or annual / unpaid leave, unless you want to come off looking quite entitled I think. Surely with your high earnings, even with furlough reducing them, you can afford to take the hit of one week unpaid?

Was it really that much of a surprise that you would be needed back? Are you coming back because your sector is allowed to open? If so did you nor know this was coming?
Here you go - one of many similar agencies
www.emergencychildcare.co.uk/emergency-nannies/

I think people are being a bit harsh. I agree that it would be cheeky to ask for a furlough extension, but in fairness to the OP they have dropped this on her out of the blue on Friday to start Monday. If furloughing people is so complicated and is done in 3 week blocks, as a PP said, then surely they knew about this a while ago and haven't bothered to mention it to the OP. I would be a bit pissed off about that.

Welcome to the world many of us have been living in for months now. People have found ways to manage looking after their children and working full time. Just bloody exhausting

They could hire a nanny as DH will be home anyway so can see and hear any issues

Look on babysitters website and arrange a worker to come and supervise the children for a few days

I thought you can only be furloughed if your employer has no work for you. You could take s weeks leave.