Anyone else that’s been furloughed - how do you feel?

[Sunbo]

I was furloughed at the beginning of this week. My company is still running as about two thirds are WFH and the remaining third have been furloughed.

I am part time so just received an email from HR on my day off to inform me.

I get on well with my boss but have not heard anything from her (she is still working) ie a text or anything. I had access to my work emails on my mobile but they have since blocked this and changed my password, so now I feel completely out of the loop with company news etc. Almost makes me feel like I have done something wrong!

I am feeling quite down about it because I feel like they have furloughed the workers that they see as less important / more dispensable, in which case if things don’t improve in a few months then I think it’s likely the furloughed staff are the ones that would then be made redundant.

Just wondering how other furloughed workers feel when it’s not the whole company and just some workers that have been furloughed?

I know I am probably taking it too personally but just feeling very disheartened about it all.

furloughed last fri. im a cleaner at a gym. knew it was coming. half of me wonders if I'll actually get my job back after.

You're not permitted to work. Anyone who does so I imagine risks being liable for the money if found out.

The problem is it seems that the Corona situation will last longer than 3 months. Yesterday, I heard a prediction lock down could happen for another 6 months if needed and the whole virus could last at least a year before a cure can be found.

But will the govt have enough funding 80 percent scheme for another 6-9 months? I remember Rishi Sunak saying "we can't save every job."

If the support is not available for a year (likely considering after 3 months the virus won't go away ) then a lot of jobs will be made redundant/unpaid for a period and that won't help anyone

Well that’s what I assumed. There’s also a clause in their forms that states any 2nd jobs need to be agreed and authorised by the company. DH is up for working but for me, trying to wfh, homeschool 3 dcs and keep on top of everything, I think it’s better for him not to. Plus if he jeopardises the grant pay and then injures himself or gets sick, he’ll get nothing.

I wouldn’t take it for gospel what Blue said. Our office have a lot of office/admin/reception staff. They’ll be furloughed but as soon as the office is open, guess what, they’ll be back to work. There is just no need for any of them on payroll right now as what can they do from home? But they will still be required when we return so is temporary

What on earth does that furlough mean ?? A friend got a letter today from his company about this and asked me...I told him it was a horse racing expression !!..can someone please explain in basic English !

@earsup basically means that a company would have opted for their staff to be redundant/unpaid leave for a period of time. The government have stepped in and said not to sack these people instead keep them employed for the time being. They will pay 80 percent of all wages up to £2500 per month (before tax I think) So if someone earns £2k before tax they will now get 80 percent every month £1.6k a month. The idea is to stop major lay offs and ensure workers have something at the end of each month. The scheme is initially for 3 months with the chance of being extended if the corona situation is ongoing after 3 months

@TidaQuel I'm pretty sure that looking for a second job whilst being furloughed will not be allowed.

Can someone confirm how furlough is said as I’ve heard it said three different ways!
Is it fur-low-ed or fur-luff. Or fur-loin ??

It’s fur lowed ( I googled it yesterday) maybe it depends where you live??

You can’t work whilst being furloughed but you are allowed to volunteer....

ICAEW says you can work for another company whilst furloughed. You may need to check your employment contract on that point though and run past your employer if you're restricted from taking a second job.

I was told that by payroll but if you go on .gov website it doesn’t say you can? I won’t be anyway due to childcare but it doesn’t make sense that the government will pay 80% whilst allowing someone to go off and earn another wage In a different job during that time?

The thing is from the governments perspective, if we were all made redundant they would have had to pay us universal credit, and what ever other benefits there are, there would be a huge amount of unemployed who would probably remain dining after corona virus, so by paying people wages during the crisis probably doesn’t make a huge amount of difference financially and means people will be back in work a lot faster.

An opinion I read and agree with: If you could do both jobs, then it's OK to be furloughed in one job and get another. For example if you're furloughed off a weekday office job then getting a retail job on a flexible or zero-hours contract is fine. But if the two jobs would be incompatible that's not reasonable.

Also some people have non-compete clauses in their contracts, though these may be unenforceable.

If you're furloughed you must do no work for the employer furloughing you for a minimum period of three weeks. (With the exception that directors may do their legal duties.) If the company decides they want you back after two weeks, or to do a day or even 15 minutes of work at some point, then they can't claim the government funding for your pay. (A reasonable employer will nonetheless pay you as agreed.)

I think the government will be getting everyone to take a home antibody test as soon as they can get them out to people. The results will get sent back to them and they’ll have a database to see who can return to work and who can’t. They’ll then obviously only continue to financially help those individuals and businesses for longer who they can see still need it

I've been furloughed, not sure how to feel. I can't work from home. Bit concerned about how we will manage money wise though. 80% is a big drop when you're already scraping by on min wage.

@Icedlatte I'm sorry to hear you're being expected to work. My company has been really clear we're absolutely not allowed to and we cannot send emails from a work email address as that would indicate we're working and could undermine their ability to claim our wages back from the government.

In our case the antibody test wouldn't make any difference.

My job can be done from home as can some of my colleagues but the issue is that the company can't afford to pay us during the outbreak. We generate income from bringing people together (event management type stuff) Until restrictions on people gathering are lifted the company can't operate or make money.

Basically for our business, we have furloughed 3/4 staff and will keep one ticking over. We haven’t exactly closed but we are so quiet (sales to an industry that has pretty much closed down) that we only need one person dealing with everything.

We have calculated that we can keep trading through April and May and possibly June as we are, after that our outgoings (small though they are as we have negotiated everything down) would be greater than our income (if things continue as they are), our cash reserves would be used up and we would go bust, and all staff would lose their jobs.

This is a business making an easy profit of £220,000 per year before this, so those people saying “this will last 6 months” - there won’t be jobs to go back to if it lasts this long, if you work for a small business, we just can’t keep trading with no money coming in forever - 3 months absolutely max for us and we have a healthy cash reserve and are owed more than we owe. Still can’t go on forever.

Has anyone had this clause in the furlough letter?
'When your Furlough leave ends, while we will always endeavour to provide you with work, in the event of insufficient work being available you agree we are entitled to place you on short pr lay you off without any pay except for statutory guarantee payments^'
I have worked for the company for over 20 years and don't want to agree to that - the rest looks fine.

@Medley10 Does it state in your contract you will receive more that statutory redundancy?

@DreamChaser23

The government are basically printing money currently to help the economy and can continue to do so if they need to so can go beyond the 3 months if required.

I’ve been furloughed - got told on Monday - feeling really shit and undervalued. I totally get why and am extremely grateful that it means I still have a job but my job is my vocation and I had so many plans for the next couple of months and they’ve just been swept away like it doesn’t matter.

I think the government would cover the 80% for as long as they need to. I doubt lockdown will last longer than 3 months because the economy wouldn’t recover and the government needs everyone working to pay it all back eventually.