Friend told to work from home but pay cut, colleague says she’s been furloughed.

[VivaLeBeaver]

So she was told by her boss to work from home. She’s a PA in a small company.

So she’s been working from home, normal hours and able to do most of her job. Home working only started last week!

So today is payday and she’s had a significant cut in her pay. She’s sent an email asking wtf but no response yet. A colleague has rung and said they decided yesterday to furlough my friend but everyone was sworn to secrecy.

Surely they can’t make her work full time but say she’s furloughed? You’re either furloughed (not working) or you’re working. They can’t just cut your pay without notice?

She’s worked there less than 2 weeks so I know they can sack her for no reason if they want? Can they do this though? Surely it’s illegal.

Please help with advice. Her dh is self employed and no income.

I’m gutted by her company doing this. It’s a small, family owned business and the family are seriously loaded. Can’t believe they’d do this.

This is happening with a lot of companies, even ones that are still profitable.
Being told they have to continue working and even coming into work but giving them a 20% pay cut.
Not sure that’s what it was intended to be used for.
Everyone needs to write to their mps

I’m sure it isn’t what it was supposed to be for. So the companies are basically stealing from the govt? Getting the govt to pay staff wages for them but they still get the benefits of free workforce?

The fact they haven’t even told her is awful.

Dh has had his pay and hours cut to 80% but at least they were upfront. I did say he’d have been better off being furloughed as he’d still get 80% but wouldn’t have to work!

Is it legal? Are citizens advice still open/telephone/online?

The rule is that businesses can only furlough employees that are doing no longer doing any work at all for the company. The 80% salary is to avoid businesses having to lay people off.

That’s really not how it’s supposed to work, but guidance from the government/HMRC has been a bit sparse to say the least so I think companies are interpreting it to suit themselves

Having spoken to our accountant and HR company, from what I understand, employees on furlough cannot do any work whatsoever.

I had already run the payroll on Monday (just in case everything went tits up as our payroll is outsourced) so all our employees are getting their full pay in March as normal.

Officially they are all on furlough from 1st April and the business is temporarily closed. We pay them, then claim it back through HMRC.

We are looking into the feasibility of us paying them their full wage - if we can afford it, we will, but still need to maintain some semblance of a business to come back to. It’s all a bit crazy at the moment

Thanks. I’m fairly sure she could insist on full pay for this month as she wasn’t furloughed and was working.

Problem is if she kicks up a fuss they may just get rid of her?

Sighs at companies that skirt around this.

Furlough status is used as a result of economic downturns whether within that industry/sector or a nationwide economic downturn as we are currently receiving. It is an unpaid absence of leave. That normally frees people up to seek temporary work elsewhere.

Due to the pandemic, the UK government brought in the 80% scheme as a means of supporting businesses who were laying staff off. It is separate from furlough. The scheme is to enable business that have 'furloughed' staff.

Businesses cant just decide to furlough staff as in your friend's case to suit them. She had every right to enquire why her salary is not what she expected. The salary scheme is open from the end of April. Furloughed staff members are to be paid from their employer as normal and they claim it back if they're eligible for the scheme. The furloughed staff are then unable to seek work from.elsewhere during the period of furlough.

HTH

Unfortunately if she hasn't been there two years she doesn't have a leg to stand on, never mind two weeks.

For two weeks it could be emergency tax code, wrong tax code.

Acas (if open) or Union (if she’s in one, IMO everyone should be this is exactly the kind of thing they help with) are a better bet than cab, who I’ve never found very useful.

I don’t think this is legal.

She should also contact her MP it’s fraudulent behaviour by her company I believe.

A slight hijack (apologies OP

If you are furloughed and receiving 80% of your salary through the government, can your employer insist that if you want your salary back up to 100% then you have to earn that 20% by working the relevant hours? Most at my company have said they’d take the 80% and nothing else if it helps keep the company afloat, but there’s a couple who can’t afford to, yet can’t work from home (not that type of job).

If she's only been there 2 weeks then surely she would only get 2 weeks pay?

You can't work during the furlough.

If she's only been working there for 2 weeks she isn't eligible, you need to be on the PAYE system as of 28/2/20.