My work won't pay or furlough me.

[Mammatomyboy16]

So I have a 13 month old son. My dad looks after him when I go to work. Since we went on lockdown my dad hasn't been able to look after him as he's classed as vulnerable. Over 70 and has diabetes. I'm a key worker so haven't been able to go to work. My partner is also a key worker so can't stay off and look after our son.

I've taken some weeks timebanking, holidays and 2 weeks we had to self isolate as my son had a high temperature but he was fine.

Anyway, my work won't furlough me. They've said if I don't come back to work next week I won't be getting paid. I've told them the only way I can come back to work is if my dad comes back and looks after him, which is risking his life and my sons life. I am furious with my work. They have furloughed other people which I understand as they live with someone who's vulnerable. But because I don't live with my dad I won't be furloughed.

I can't afford to not be paid. I can't work around my partners hours as he gets in so late from work everyday.

I don't know what to do!

What do you plan to do next?

Christ people are being harsh today. It's not easy to get childcare, most are shut near me. Even then, if we suddenly needed to pay it would be uneconomical for DW to work. We've been lucky enough to be able to work around each other, OP isn't.

OP, there are some very good form letters about persuading your employer to furlough you on money saving expert.com.

If they don't have what you want I would research the rules and do your own letter to HR. Are you in a union?

If furloughed you would be on 80% pay but it would cost your employer little to nothing.

I agree with PPs who say you will need a long term solution for when furlough ends. You can cut childcare costs with vouchers; again more info on MSE.

Why could he not work from home? What didn't work? Whole companies are wfh.

I'm surprised you rely on a diabetic man in his 70s to look after a full on toddler tbh.
Your options are either pay for childcare (like most of us) or take unpaid time off I'm afraid.

So this is where the cheeky fuckers have gone to - I agree with @SouthernComforts

I

The OP doesn’t seem interested in listening to those pointing out the reality of her situation, deciding instead to get defensive about whether she should have had her children or use family for childcare. Those comments are all kind of irrelevant though and clouding the issue.

She has her children and her previous childcare arrangements are not viable (for whatever reason). So she needs a plan. Her options now are fairly simple.

She needs to either pay for childcare now that her father cannot look after her child, or give up work and do it herself. And she needs to accept that chances are her solution might need to continue until her child gets free nursery hours and/or goes to school.

I’d suggest a pros and cons list to the two options considering all factors including cost, impact on pensions, impact of a career break etc... Then she can make a decision.

There is no point in getting angry at your work. It’s pointless, wastes energy and will not get the OP to a solution. I’m sure the employer is not sitting there thinking of ways to make your life difficult. They will be doing the best they can to balance staff requirements with all the worry/stress that the pandemic has caused with limited guidance in how to apply the frequently updated rules. Talk to them nicely to see if there’s anything that can be done for you but really, I think you’ve got the two options everyone has already suggested.

I'm sorry op you've had some horrible comments seriously what is up with people, jeez we are all fed up of the situation but no need to be rude .
Anyway yes you can be furloughed for childcare but as you are a key worker I don't know . I'm similar to you that I work and my dc goes to a relative who is over 70 just a couple of times a week after school , obviously not at the moment . I'm furloughed and I will be unable to go back to work until dc goes back to school . The day they want me back before school goes back I'll suppose I'll have to take unpaid leave.
My only advice is can't you speak to HR and explain again ? They may be able to help . There are many people in this situation but it seams only on mumsnet that you do not have any help with childcare.

Furlough is for a relatively short period of time anyway, so what would you do after that? At the moment, I believe it's only until the end of June, by which time your Dad probably still shouldn't be looking after your son. It's a tough time for everyone, but you have options. I am not a key worker, but am working full time so have no childcare available to me. Your posts sound childish.

You need to put him in some kind of childcare.

Hi lovely. Do you have any friends that are working from home or off work who you could ask very nicely to look after him one or more days a week? If I had a friend in this situation, I would gladly help out... It takes a village! Or any family members who could help out?

Another thought OP - if you earn less than £50 a day, or you can't get child minder place, then it might be worth you taking the unpaid leave option to give yourself a few weeks breathing room to make new plans. It's often easier to get an exisiting employer to agree to part time or certain shifts (like weekends or evenings) than it is to find a new job that exactly fits what you can do around your DP's job to keep paid childcare costs to a minimum. And definately worth getting him to ask too.

It's shit, but furlough was only ever going to be a sticking plaster on your bigger issue of not having childcare for a year.

So basically you want the tax payers to fund you staying home because you refuse to pay for childcare? That’s very entitled I’m afraid.
Using a parent who’s over 70 to look after a baby full time is also very entitled. I’m a very fit grandma ten years younger than your df and look after my grandson 1 day a week before Covid hit, believe me it’s hard work!
Before you had your child you should have made financial arrangements for childcare if you wanted to return to work.
You absolutely can afford childcare. You just choose not to pay if. What’s your job? Why can you not WFH?
Your dp doesn’t work for the NHS. He’s a salesman who earns commission on goods he sells to the NHS. There’s absolutely no way his company aren’t allowing him to WFH as all he does is make phone calls!
I suspect your boss knows this which is why they have refused furlough.

Are you a public servant?, eg, do you work in education, NHS, police, fire, ambulance or local council?

If you do, you can't be furloughed because those industries are still being funded. However, that means you are subject to normal employment law, which means you can have parental leave but are not paid for it.

Unfortunately, shit happens. It's annoying if your employer won't furlough you if they could but relying on unpaid childcare is always risky.

When I returned to work MIL and FIL offered to have DD two days a week. They managed three months before they realised it was too much, and they are youngish - 50s and 60s. They own their own business and I think they thought they could wfh around her.

They did one day a week for another year or so and then FIL was diagnosed with cancer and advised to avoid germ-ridden children while he had treatment.

@Soontobe60 I work in a supermarket so yeah can't do that from home. I didn't say he works for the nhs, I said he works on behalf of the nhs because he does. He wasn't able to work from home because he needs a laptop with a phone line to phone his customers. The systems he uses at work won't work from home. So he can't work from home either

I don't want the tax payers to do anythifn.'ive worked since I left school and payed tax's myself. I don't sponge of anyone and never have.

And also my boss doesn't know this, because they don't know what he does for a living and they don't need to know either!

And choosing not to go to work because you don't want to pay for childcare is not a reason to be furloughed if you could be paid for working for any company.

@imsooverthisdrama

Anyway yes you can be furloughed for childcare

The key word here is CAN. You CAN be furloughed. OP's work have chosen not to furlough her. They CAN. They do not have to.

I’m sorry to say it’s not up,to your employer’s responsibility to provide childcare for your children. Ie. By furloughing you.

I don't want the tax payers to do anythifn.

Eh? The whole point of your post is that you want tour work to furlough you

Op I’m in a similar situ and no idea what to do. I have no nursery etc lined up and could end out effectively working for free for a year (or however long the treatment or vaccine takes) to send Ds to nursery. The idea of which is pretty awful. I’m not sure what I’ll do but I’m surprised by the responses on the thread. I thought childcare was a legit reason for furlough.

And fwiw I believe teachers (who are key workers) can be furloughed

My goodness the amount of hate and abuse on my post is ridiculous. The whole point of my post is to say I can't be furloughed and I think it's unfair that my work are furloughing some people and not others. To say I shouldn't have children because I can't afford childcare is a ridiculous thing to say.

I've worked full time and more each week up until I got pregnant and now because I chose to work part time and raise my son myself rather than be in work and send him off the nursery for someone else to look after him daily I'm getting abuse for it?

OP if you work in a supermarket, surely there are opportunities to work around your DH job, assuming he is a Mon-Fri 9-5 type sales job. Evenings, weekends? Then you'd have no childcare costs.

Not really the point, but people have been quite insulting and patronising re the grandad - many over 70s (even those with diabetes or other health conditions) are perfectly capable of looking after their young grand children. Not just capable, want to and enjoy it!

Less ageism please

Why could he not work from home? What didn't work? Whole companies are wfh

I'm a pretty conscientious employee but there's no chance in hell I could work properly from home with a 13 month old to look after even if I had all the necessary technology.

Can anyone really do that?