Job start date is being delayed

[chooseausername]

DH was supposed to start a new job on 4th May. He handed in his notice before lockdown and all was good. His new job have said they can't start him next week and want to delay his start date, although I worry about him starting at all now.

His current job won't allow him to retract his notice as I think they are struggling in the current climate too and eventually may have needed to make him redundant.

Does he have any options? He's meeting his current manager in the morning to discuss his final handover. Could he ask to be furloughed? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Is he currently working? If not he can ask to be furloughed but his employer doesn't have to do it.

Yes, he technically has two more weeks left at his current company but was taking the week after next as annual leave. So they can refuse to furlough him and not allow him to stay and his new company could retract his offer? I just want to check this is all allowed. Not a great situation to be in!

If he's working then he can't be furloughed, it's for employees who have no work to do. By annual leave do you mean paid holiday that he's entitled to? If he's leaving and he has holiday entitlement left he'll need to take it.

I'm not quite clear how you think he'll be better off by being furloughed?

Most of his colleagues have been furloughed until the end of May (currently) and the company only have a handful of people working still. DH was not chosen to be furloughed as he was leaving and now only has 5 more days in the office so they've just asked him to complete his handover, sort through his things etc. He doesn't actually have any actual work to do, it's more finishing up. If he wasn't leaving, he would have been furloughed. I hope that makes more sense. I wasn't sure if he could ask to be furloughed until the end of May too so we have some income seeing as his new start date is being delayed?

He can ask if they’ll keep him on longer and furlough him until the new job eventually starts, but they are under no obligation to do so.

Ok. At least he can ask that tomorrow and see what they say. Can I just check as well that his new company can retract his offer? What a mess!

He can ask but I think I heard that not many employers were allowing this (it might have changed) and I can see why, it seems fraught with difficulty to me, I wonder if employment law exists to cope with that possibility

I agree that it's all rather complicated. I'm just thinking of options before he meets with his manager. If they say no, then that's fair enough. It's more a you don't ask, you don't get scenario. We have savings so should be okay but obviously would rather have some income in the meantime.

He handed in his notice, so his current employer has no reason to agree to furlough him. He can ask, but I can't imagine what reason there could be for them agreeing to it as there's no benefit to them. As for the new employer, yes they very much can retract the offer at any stage and there's nothing you can do about that unfortunately. Could you apply for Universal Credit?

No harm at all in asking, you won't be in any worse a situation if they say no. Can he get a temp job until there's clarity with the new job?

Yeah, he's said he may sign up with an agency. I'm on maternity leave so we could always swap too which might be nice for both of us. Thank you. Like I said, it's worth asking but we won't count on it.