Friend said DH is abusing furlough

[amy198820]

DH been on furlough from 2 jobs since March (one full time job and one part time job he does one evening a week). He has been back to work on and off since the summer and is now on the flexi furlough scheme and both jobs have topped his pay to 100%. Since the tier 4 announcement he has been put back on furlough completely.

As tier 4 is looking like it will continue through Jan/Feb, and so unlikely he will be going back anytime soon DH had applied for another job to keep him busy rather than sit at home. DH found out before Christmas he has got the job and he has made this new employer aware that this job will just be a fill in whilst he is on furlough and the employer has accepted this and are happy to take him on. (its a friend of a friend type thing)

Spoke with my friend and earlier and told her about DH's new temporary position explaining that its better than him sitting at home all day /gives him something to do until all this passes etc. My friend took umbrage with this and said that we are abusing the system and that this isnt what the scheme was designed for. I didn't really know what to say and so said sorry she was offended and would speak to her later on.

For background before anyone says anything, I was not being insensitive, my friend has not suffered financially due to COVID as she has been working from home continuously throughout.

I want to call my friend back soon as to not let the bad feeling grow. How would you suggest I approach this? I do not think we are doing anything wrong, just trying to get through this pandemic and doing the best for our family as would anyone else.

@scotsllb I totally agree but also think the furlough scheme should be fairer

@jacks11

If you can do this, legally, then the taxpayer should not be contributing to the wage- why on earth is the government paying the wages of people who can then go and earn another wage. If it is legal then it should not be. And it is completely immoral. The government are borrowing a fortune to fund these schemes- we’ll be paying this back for years, possibly a couple of generations. There will be tax rises and possibly public service cuts, public sector pay will be frozen (again) for a long time and so on to pay for this. If you get another job, then the government should not be paying your furlough pay as you don’t need it.

This sums it up for me.

It’s pretty immoral to earn more than your usual salary using furlough which is to stop people going destitute.

[quote Wolfiefan]@amy198820 so that justifies anything? Or he could use the time to update CV, do extra training and or look for more secure jobs.
I agree with your friend.[/quote]
There is only so much of that you can do in 9 months

It’s allowed under the scheme rules so your friend is likely just jealous you will be getting a lot of money in. Ignore her and in future don’t tell people too much

@notdaddycool

It’s pretty immoral to earn more than your usual salary using furlough which is to stop people going destitute.

Blame the government then, not the man on the street looking out for his family. This government don't care about you or morals, it's legally allowed.

We might all be in the same pandemic but we are certainly not in the same boat.

I honestly cannot see how anyone can take it personally when someone does what they can to get through this. He is not taking money away from anyone else. It will not affect anyone else's outcome.

One thing this government have truly succeeded in is turning people against each other.

Ultimately OP, as you can see from this thread, you may not be able to change your friends feelings on this. So you may have lost a friend. She has a right to her opinion and you can see many agree with her. It’s a shame but these things happen in life. Just don’t try and convince her she’s “wrong”. That will just get her back up more.

IMO it is immoral even if it technically is allowed. There are a huge number of people who for various reasons (hospitality industry, entertainment industry, not eligible for self employed support scheme, not eligible for furlough etc etc) can’t work in their usual jobs/businesses and yet don’t qualify for any meaningful financial support. The vast majority of them have a good work ethic but are now desperate for money and jobs.
How about volunteering at a food bank which many of these people are relying on right now instead of lapping up double pay?
I appreciate that if you have a secure job/furlough then the hardship of others may not be top of mind but it is real and only going to get worse.

No he’s not doing anything wrong, you can earn from another job while on furlough from another. Assuming as well that his tax free allowance is applied to his normal job everything he earns from this part time job will be taxed at 20% anyway. I have 2 jobs, I was furloughed from one (my main job) and could have easily gone full time in the other as that work was still open. I had no childcare so didn’t, however I would have done it if I could!

It's not exploiting the system. Furloughed people were being encouraged to take second jobs earlier in the year when we needed fruit pickers. I agree the scheme is flawed, and I'm envious of those who have basically had a paid holiday whilst others have lost their jobs or have been working their arses off at home, but someone who has the initiative to find another job to keep occupied whilst furloughed is not being immoral. Good for him.

I don’t think this is how furlough is supposed to work, I’m sure there would be some voluntary work he could do, e.g, helping with food and essentials deliveries to vulnerable people.

OP you’ve had a right pasting on here. It’s allowed under the scheme and if it’s to get a bit of savings together for a rainy day then crack on. Look after yourself because no-one on this thread will pay your mortgage at the end of the day.

It's not illegal but I don't know why you expect someone to be thrilled about it - it's not exactly in the spirit of the scheme IMO, especially working for a friend of a friend....

@Shmithecat2 not at all, as you won't be taking taxpayers money at the same time as working in your job.

The point is he's getting paid not to work with our money.

Surely you can understand why those who have been working throughout this pandemic might be a bit P’d off that your husband has been paid 100% salary to stay at home, but now will be paid that and a full time wage for another job. Bear in mind the tax payer (including your friend) will be paying back all this furlough money for a lifetime so I would be quite p’d off too.

Also your question, what is he supposed to do, sit at home? Yes, we are in the middle of a pandemic, he’s getting 100% salary yet is going out there risking spreading it more. People, including your friends will think you’re being greedy. So you might want to consider that before telling people what he’s doing

@KylieKoKo

You can work while furloghed if your company allows it. It's perfectly legal.

It’s legal. I probably wouldn’t do it because someone else might need that job to put food on the table. I’d probably volunteer for a charity. But your DH isn’t abusing it in the legal sense.

‘What’s he meant to do, sit at home?’

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. Literally the whole point of furlough.

You both must earn huge amounts to have been net contributors to the taxation system for 15 years......

It sounds like someone claiming benefits while working. Although not in the sense of being illegal, as people have pointed out.

@Shmithecat2

Gosh. I was thnking about getting a job. I don't need one, but I'm bored of being a SAHM now. But it would seem that by some of the posters on here that do so would be morally corrupt

Dont be ridiculous. There is absolutely no comparison between a SAHP getting one job and a man who is taking in three incomes from two furloughs at 100% and a third job.

@NotTerfNorCis

It sounds like someone claiming benefits while working. Although not in the sense of being illegal, as people have pointed out.

Not the same at all.

Could he not volunteer instead?

Mad that people get so up in arms about the “morality” and “ethics” of a bloke claiming a few grand in furlough but don’t bat an eye at the billions in unpaid taxes by massive companies, and the government spinning away millions on contracts to their mates.

Probably have the “benefit claimers are milking the system and bleeding is dry” mentality too.

@MumUndone

It's not exploiting the system. Furloughed people were being encouraged to take second jobs earlier in the year when we needed fruit pickers. I agree the scheme is flawed, and I'm envious of those who have basically had a paid holiday whilst others have lost their jobs or have been working their arses off at home, but someone who has the initiative to find another job to keep occupied whilst furloughed is not being immoral. Good for him.

But not third jobs. That’s taking the piss. To accept 100% furlough from TWO jobs, and then go and get a third job.

mixed feelings on this.

on the one hand, it seems grossly unfair to those who have been made redundant/lost their jobs or those who have been working their butts off all year at home but are not able to have the benefits of 3 different wages.

on the other hand, I get that being on furlough is worrying as it could lead to redundancy. I certainly would not want to be furloughed personally - it would cause me incredible anxiety.

lesson learned OP - money is a touchy subject.

Mad that people get so up in arms about the “morality” and “ethics” of a bloke claiming a few grand in furlough but don’t bat an eye at the billions in unpaid taxes by massive companies, and the government spinning away millions on contracts to their mates.

No ones said those don’t matter too. You can care about individuals gaming the system AND corporations AND politicians.