Furlough

[Gooseygoosey12345]

DH was furloughed in the first lockdown. He works in a sector that is not essential. His company have now twisted the rules and are claiming that their staff are key workers. Can they do this? Surely if they furloughed everyone in the first lockdown that would mean that they were not key workers?

Oh no I totally get that it's possible to be both, I just don't think they should be playing the key worker scenario out when they're not. It just seems wrong.
We absolutely won't be using the school space, we don't need it and luckily DD is doing brilliantly with home learning and her school are amazing with all the provisions they have in place. DS isn't school age yet.

We are key workers and furloughed staff last time that we are not doing this time. (Although we did have some staff working all through). We provide an essential (life threatening if is goes wrong) service to prisons, hospitals, care homes, factories and houses. It was summer last year and some sectors were able to manage without heating/hot water/gas. They can't in the middle of winter.

My son's ADHD assessment and my daughter's physio were cancelled last time as only the most urgent appointments went ahead with everyone at CAMHS working from home including admin staff there. . Her orthodontist appointments were also cancelled. This time they are still going ahead.

I agree that so many are labelling lots of staff as key workers when in reality they aren't.

The answer is a very hard one as so many businesses barely survived last time around and another closure could push some right under. The fact that the financial support that has been mentioned is obviously nowhere near enough is shocking but really not surprising.

I fail to see how so many car sales are essential workers for example! Online enquiries could be dealt with at home, for example. Virus isn't going anywhere at this rate apart from getting round all of us quicker!

I really feel for parents who's work are refusing to furlough them and who aren't considered key workers too. What are you supposed to do! I really think it's an absolute shitshow again and hasn't been thought through as usual

It really isn’t fair when workers are put into unsafe conditions. It’s also not fair to send your kids into school unless absolutely essential.

Exactly. It's just such a mess