No wonder why people get annoyed with those on furlough

[Whatnotwhat]

I work in a social club in the evening. I do have a day time job.
Before covid I worked Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.
I have been very grateful that I was paid furlough during lockdown.
At the beginning of September the club finally opened fully.
Glad to be back working missed the company.

This is now my aibu the girl who works on a Monday, Thursday and Saturday
who was paid furlough for those hours has come back and will only work
on the Monday as she doesn't want to work the other days.
Her words 'furlough was money for nothing'. She also has a job during the day.
Our employer isn't allowed to hire anyone else yet until she puts it in writing
that she will only work Mon

W

How has she taken advantage?

Furlough was designed specifically to keep people in a job where there was no work to be done. There is now work but the employee is refusing to work. Big difference.

It was a poorly designed scheme by the government. I don’t think there’s an issue whatsoever with someone in a bar using it to their full advantage!

A big failure of the furlough scheme was allowing workers to do alternative work whilst still being paid their furlough, so basically getting two wages for just working one job. There should have been some rules making such workers claim only the difference, i.e. lost wages, between what they earned before, and what they earn on the new/second job. It's cost the country billions unnecessarily. But, if the govt invoke laws/rules without such restrictions, you can't blame people for taking advantage.

@Tooembarrassingtomention

The point is that she could have resigned those hours at any point. Doing it now has cost the employer and the country (so you) money

Is that ethical?

But would it?

The role was furloughed. The furlough payments to the business kept the role viable. Now it can be filled by someone who wants the role

The point being that someone was always going to be paid to do nothing to keep the job active. Whether it was her or someone else isn't relative to anything to do with the mechanism of furlough.

I worked throughout. Self employed...

It made me reassess my life. I have started a new job.. The pandemic has made us all reassess

If they are still using the furlough scheme currently in place which is flexible furlough if she isn't working what were her normal hours and her contract hours haven't officially been changed she could still be receiving 80% of pay for the shifts she isn't doing.

The furlough system was totally open to abuse
By employers and employees

Good for her. There's more to life than working all day and half the nights in the week.

She has been used to living on less and having more time, so wants to continue with that.

Your work should be able to find a replacement as soon as she puts it in writing for them.

@FourTeaFallOut The role was furloughed. The furlough payments to the business kept the role viable. Now it can be filled by someone who wants the role

Furlough doesn't benefit the business, it benefits the worker. In fact, the business will be out of pocket because it was liable for employers NIC, holiday pay etc., so a net cost. The business would have saved money had the worker simply given notice and left instead of continuing to cost the govt and employer.

@FourTeaFallOut

The point being that someone was always going to be paid to do nothing to keep the job active. Whether it was her or someone else isn't relative to anything to do with the mechanism of furlough.

Furlough is to benefit the worker and to stop them having to claim benefits had they been made redundant. A side effect was that the employer would have a "ready to go" workforce when they were allowed to re-open. On the last point, the system fails because a lot of staff have gone off and got alternative work, so they're not available when called back to work, like the case here.

That wasn't just a side effect, that was built in. Otherwise all affected businesses could have lost all their experienced and trained staff in one fell swoop. That would be pretty catastrophic to the economy.

But yes, you are right, as an individual she has taken the piss.

@flippertyop

Those people earning 80 percent also had no transport costs to get to work. Didn't need to drop children off at school saving costs. Couldn't eat out etc etc I can't understand how they can be in debt

This might surprise you but some people walk to work and school and already can’t afford to eat out!

As much as people are full of moral outrage about this pattern of behaviour, I think its a rare person that would have turned down the furlough cash and resigned if they weren't planning on returning, rather than shut up and take it.

What has this got to go with "the furloughed"?

So one person you know has decided that she wants to cut her working hours?

Yes you're absolutely right everyone should be absolutely fuming at every single person who received furlough pay because of this one woman wanting to do a completely reasonable thing like change her working hours.

Weird.

@flippertyop

Those people earning 80 percent also had no transport costs to get to work. Didn't need to drop children off at school saving costs. Couldn't eat out etc etc I can't understand how they can be in debt

I can't understand how anyone could possibly think that EVERYONE uses 20% of their wage on transport and eating out. Are you really that sheltered?

What a nice life you must lead if you could get by on 80% of your wage by pocketing all the cash you spend at restaurants throughout the month.

Fucking hell 🤦‍♀️

If she’s refusing to work but hasn’t written in then it’s work’s fault for not using disciplinary.
Otherwise taking furlough money for a job she wanted to quit while ‘morally wrong’ isn’t illegal. You don’t even know if she reassessed or did it deliberately.

@flippertyop

Those people earning 80 percent also had no transport costs to get to work. Didn't need to drop children off at school saving costs. Couldn't eat out etc etc I can't understand how they can be in debt

The furlough payment didn’t even cover my mortgage, I luckily had savings, thats a luxury a lot of people don’t have.

I think furlough was initially needed, but it should have stopped a lot sooner than it did.

RE: your colleague, even without Covid things could change dramatically for a person over 18 months, so it shouldn't be a complete shock that she has different priorities after 18 months, you can't exactly expect someone to do the same job, with the same hours for the rest of their lives.

I didn't tell work I was quitting after maternity leave until my SMP had finished even though I knew I would be leaving beforehand. Do you hate all "those on maternity" now?

@LaLaJ

What has this got to go with "the furloughed"?

So one person you know has decided that she wants to cut her working hours?

Yes you're absolutely right everyone should be absolutely fuming at every single person who received furlough pay because of this one woman wanting to do a completely reasonable thing like change her working hours.

Weird.

Spot on. Lunatic thread.

It is not unreasonable for anyone to wish to renegotiate their hours.

Maybe whilst on furlough she valued her free time more therefore has worked out she can drop two nights and have more of a family/social life

@BrendaBubbles

Of course people will take advantage. The problem was keeping the scamscheme going so long, there has been zero excuse for it since at least June. If you can milk it then fill your boots, your taxes will be going up to pay for it eventually anyway.

But my taxes will go up too and I never received furlough (worked all through it). I agree that it went on much too long and should have been a loan, alternatively, all of us who worked should be given an additional 80% of our pay or a massive tax rebate.

Also people who are only being paid 80% in an already badly paid job may have had to work tons of overtime just to get by and furlough would have prevented that.