Furlough to be wound down in July

[Alex50]

We all need to be getting back to work or our jobs and livelihoods are going to disappear.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/05/rishi-sunak-preparing-to-wind-down-furlough-scheme-from-july

People on furlough are probably more worried than happy.
If you work in a busy hairdressers or beauty salon you may be laid off as SD in shops will mean less staff needed as you can't have too many customers in ( for example) and not everyone wants to work on a mobile basis. Other companies will be the same or rota the staff , so less hours worked means less wages. Working in Hospitality and getting hours are a problem at the best of times , but this will make it harder.
Until there is a vaccine this will be a huge worry for those currently on government help. It's all very well people saying they are getting it etc etc , but it is just a sticking plaster for now.
:(

Am not against furlough, nor blaming people for being off work. DH is in that boat. Its just some seem to be really taking the mick. As I said, its possible I just know more of the pisstakers..and the 2 women I know have most probably massively altered my perception of this, as I am aghast that such behaviour is going on. You expect some to take the mick when the public purse is opened, but not so..brazenly, and bragging about it!

Also, the only ones I know who reckon lockdown should be extended for ages/indefinitely..happen to be those currently on furlough, or WFH. I saw an argument last night with someone furloughed, berating a supermarket worker for saying she really needs a rest..apparently its much much worse to be furloughed and those who are at work should be happy. Including NHS staff too!

Quite sensibly, Rishi Sunak isn't talking about ending the furlough scheme in isolation, but as part of lifting restrictions on work and movement. I think there's a strong argument that businesses that can continue or resume work shouldn't be furloughing loads of their staff. Equally businesses that remain directly affected by restrictions should remain eligible for their funds.

The "grey area" would be business and job roles that technically can carry on, but have been heavily affected by restrictions indirectly. We might see a sector-by-sector or role-by-role approach.

There is also the concern that requirements for redundancy to be, essentially, a slow process are encouraging companies to jump early to redundancy. I'd like to see that addressed somehow. I don't think it's helpful if the company that waits to see if revenue increases post-lockdown before choosing to make redundancies gets hurt financially, while the company that jumps to redundancies now ends up better off for it.

Maybe some people will need to think about looking for alternative work like care work or whatever where weekend/ nights can be worked to fit round their partner. I did this for years with four young children, no childcare needed and kept us earning enough to survive. Not easy but you do what you have to to earn enough.

Tillyteatowel. What attitude FGS? I've always been more than happy to contribute to the welfare state but you must see it's not possible to support furloughed workers to this extent if 50% of the adult population aren't earning or paying tax.

It is completely unsustainable to support so many people on benefits or furlough for long as well as all the extra costs of the NHS/ bereavement benefits/ funeral grants etc which many will claim. The mind boggles at the bill. We will all be suffering for years to come.

My DH and I also worked shifts to support our children when they were growing up. We will still have to support many extra people with UC and other benefits though. Once furlough ends there will not enough care work etc for everyone, and some older people for example may not be as employable due to health problems of their own. There will be a huge knock on effect which will hit most areas of the economy for some time.

@midgebabe

Yes a ten year old should be able to stay at home and do online schooling /entertain themselves for the day
not consistent with modern ideals but it's not an ideal situation and children used to have much more responsibility and still grew up ok

Ah, hold on whilst I tell all the kids age 10-plus with Special Needs that they're not up to scratch. If only someone had told them before now they just have to try harder!

@Babyroobs if you have a partner. I'm a single parent so that wouldn't be possible for me.

Agree furlough can't last forever though but I'm in favour of reopening childcare settings in time for the summer holidays.

Many trade/Professional organisations have added to the problem by issuing guidance that goes beyond the government and puts people in a position where furlough is their only option.

For example, several local vets have furloughed loads of staff. They are allowed to work for animal welfare reasons. Most of their work is outdoors (equine and farm) most can be done with distancing, they are familiar with biosecurity and have access to PPE. However their governing body issued an edict that they must only do essential work, no vaccinations, no dental examinations, no lameness work, etc. They should be working on an almost full basis, the exceptions should be non-essential work that can't be done in a distanced way.

I spoke to my sports coach at the beginning of lockdown. He was happy to continue coaching, we don't normally touch, could easily follow a 2m distance, are outdoors and could avoid him touching anything, I could pay electronically. I am still allowed to exercise. However his professional governing body has banned all coaches from working. He could have worked almost fully but instead will claim the self employed income support.

The government need to tell people that they should be working unless they are in businesses ordered to close (pubs, gyms, theatres etc) and they should adapt their working practices to minimise risk.

I think more retail businesses should be opening with appropriate measures in place.

The furlough scheme should continue for those who absolutely cannot work.

It's been said that 50% of the adult population is currently being supported by the state, which means that the other 50% are paying for it.

The Daily Mail is saying that, and the Mail is including Civil Servants, Local Government employees and pensioners in the 50% count, which is outrageous to say the least. Working for the government =/= being supported by the state. Government employees pay tax too. Pensioners have paid a lifetime’s worth of tax.

So it is most definitely NOT one half of the adult population “paying for” the other half.

Also, furloughed employees are still paying income tax, NI etc on their furlough pay. So even that’s not all one way.

@Lexilooo I agree, I could easily go back to work and social distance but companies are scared of getting sued if you did get coronvirus at work and not following the rules, but no ones sure what the rules are, once they make it clear hopefully we can go back to work. It’s also worrying if you have underlying health conditions or over a certain age, I don’t think employers will want to employ you as they won’t want to take the risk.

@Lexilooo - What about businesses that cannot afford to pay furloughed workers until revenue is at a level where they can afford too? That was the point of furlough in the first place, not social distancing

@Discobar I have no issue with that, but it is harder to police, although it should reduce somewhat if generally the presumption is that people go to work.

It may have to move to a situation where if you aren't a business within certain classes your claim needs to be assessed, I don't know, just throwing ideas around.

The sooner companies reopen the les redundancies there will be. The longer it goes on, the more companies will fold. No two ways about it

If I was furloughed I’d be properly panicking and wanting to know when my employer was reopening. I’d be screaming for child care to be made available.

It is though Arrietty. Not directly of course but the half not employed/supported by the state do need to generate enough income to pay for the other half. The half who are employed privately pay the salaries on which the other half can pay tax. That's not to say public sector workers (I am one) owe the others for that, they do important work but the system can't work without the private sector generating actual money.

I don't think it was the Daily Mail, I think it was Rishi.

@DateandTime at the very least, it’s an incredibly inflammatory way of positing it. It’s phrased as though half the country are mooching off the other half, which they aren’t.

The divisiveness is getting tiresome. This is supposed to be a country pulling together to get through a crisis.

I don’t think it’s about one half mooching off the other, but the stat is staggering. I was surprised that it was the case when I read it on here. It’s unsustainable so I’m glad changes will be made soon to pay outs (furlough etc)

@Bluntness100 exactly, i’ve emailed my HR manager and said I want to come back asap. I am enjoying the sunshine but I also know this isn’t reality and a harsh awakening is round the corner. I’m scared of what tomorrow may bring and it’s not the virus that frightens me. I can’t believe the amount of mumsnetters that think we can live like this until a vaccine is found.

Alex can you say which sector you are in? (Not sure if you’ve said)

I don’t think it’s about one half mooching off the other, but the stat is staggering.

Why? One third of the workforce work (directly or indirectly) for the State. That’s an ordinary state of affairs in the UK, and it is the case because we have the NHS and a welfare state, a full system of state education and so on.

So 1/3 of all working adults plus ALL the of pensioners in the country is already a figure well above 40% even on an ordinary day in an ordinary year in the U.K.

I found it so. Many do. If it’s usually 40% I’m still glad furlough and hand outs are ending soon,

So so so many companies are furloughing people because they've closed for lockdown even though they didn't need to. The 'stay at home' message just went too far.