Advice needed PLEASE. DH's company have shut down - but are refusing to pay the 80% of his wages!

[pleasepleasepleasehelp]

Going into a huge panic right now. DH's company have shut his local branch down today (because of coronavirus,) but have told the staff that they have GOT to go to another branch that's staying open, 20 miles away, with poor public transport, and where the branch already has a full compliment of staff.

19 staff work at DH's branch, and 15 of them don't - and can't drive. They all do odd shifts, (24/7,) and the buses stop at 7pm. So every single one of them is saying they are not going or they simply don't want to go.

None of the staff at the other branch want any of DH's branch there as they need and want their own shifts. DH and the staff at his branch would literally be just sitting there doing naff-all.

There is also the risk of him infecting people (or them infecting him.) Everyone has been told to stay in, and have no unnecessary journeys, and not mix with ANYONE, yet they are expecting DH to go to this other branch 20 miles away, and mix with potentially 100s of other people, when he could spend the 3 weeks just with me.

I am so worried about finances too, as they are saying they won't pay him, and may even risk him facing disciplinary action. The GOVERNMENT have demanded that we all STAY HOME, by LAW, and yet DH's company are demanding that DH goes to another branch, mixing with 100s of people.

Surely if his branch is shutting down, they HAVE to pay him the 80%?!

Zillerdy that's really irresponsible.

The GOVERNMENT have demanded that we all STAY HOME, by LAW

Umm no they haven’t, IF your job can not be done from home then you are allowed to go to work.

Even the government website it says the following;
Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (where this absolutely cannot be done from home)
Stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people
Wash your hands as soon as you get home

So once again IF you can’t work from home, then going to work is absolutely allowed.

You only get the 80% wage thing if the company lays you off due to lack of work due to this virus. You don’t get the 80% wage If you simply choose not to work! The government really need to make this clearer as people don’t understand

The other branch may have a full compliment now, but that's likely to change over the coming weeks I'd have thought. Training now over in the second site seems sensible to me in many ways (although not for infection control of course)

Aee people really suggesting faking symptoms in order to get SSP?? 😡

More to protect their employment status but yes. If your employer is showing no regard for your health and safety never mind the wider restrictions what other option do individuals actually have at the moment?

Surely it’s not ok for companies to completely disregard the circumstances to protect their bottom line but not for individuals to protect themselves? Particularly when the company line is very likely to put even more pressure on the NHS.

Again this is not a situation where they are understaffed at one branch, this is putting people deliberately in close contact with others for the sake of ‘busy work’.

I personally get the feeling that if most people heard they would be getting £95 a week SSP rather than 80% of their wage they'd be off to work like a shot. There really is a lot of confusion here.

@fivesecondrule - Agree that there has to be clarity. My cousin also thinks that she can stay at home and get 80% of her wages , despite the fact that there is plenty of work for her. I tried to tell her that she was only entitled to statutory sick pay, but she was having none of it.

So strange that restaurants/bars have been closed, but hotels haven't , which obviously doesn't help the OP.

Although the other branch is fully staffed at the moment, it could be that they are putting in place contingency plans for staff going off sick, so would rather train him now.

Sounds as if it's a chain of hotels. Do they have employee benefits or a hotline employees can call? Check your house insurance to see whether you have legal cover as you may be entitled to free legal advice.

The govt have clearly fucked up communication YET AGAIN. All they need to do is say who CAN stay open, and that everything else needs to shut. I thought it was actually quite clear but obviously businesses are treating it as rather more open ended. A hotel is not essential. No one is self isolating in a hotel in the uk. You know why? Because the fucking restaurant would be closed! So that's utter bollocks. They are keeping open to make money, not because they are overflow hospitals. While they are open, they can say guests have the option to come and they don't have to give refunds, and it sounds like they are screwing over employees as well by doing so. The government need to crack down on this by clarifying "essential".

Plucked 'essential' in this context simply means 'unless you can't work from home'. It's very clear. Don't leave your house unless essential. If you can WFH then do it. If you can't, then you are permitted to travel to and from work.

I think the problem is that people are making a mental connection: essential=essential worker= key worker= only key workers need to work.