Furlough and pregnancy

[Whattodo62]

Hi,

Ive name changed for this as its outing.

My employer informed me on Wednesday that I am being put on furlough leave from mid April. I was told this is because I am going on maternity leave at the end of may anyway, and as they've been so disorganised they haven't yet found my cover, so "if they can do without me then, they can do without me now". This was said on the phone and then I received a letter explaining it.

They want me to stay for 2 weeks longer than the other 70% of staff furloughed so I can finish month end (I work in finance).

My questions are surely is that not pregnancy discrimination? And also if they need me for this month end, why is it any different to next month end?

It's causing me quite some financial impact (DH is self employed, newish business so will be getting some support from the govt, but not much money) and I have budgeted my statutory minimum mat leave by supplementing it with savings from my full time wages up until I got on at leave. I've also had to cancel holiday I had pre mat leave so run the risk of carrying over a full years allowance until (if) I return.

I understand the companies need to furlough to survive.

Any help would be really appreciated.

Bumping in the hope someone can help me. I have to agree to the furlough letter by the end of the day and don't know what to do.

Have asked to be moved to the legal section

Hi OP,

We've done that for you now.

Thank you @LilyMumsnet

Hi OP.
Is it worth asking your employer if you can take the whole of this year's holiday entitlement prior to your mat leave starting instead? I appreciate it doesn't help them financially, but it could help you in the interim (depending on the amount of hols and when the year runs).

You have to agree to be put on furlough. Most people will agree if the alternative is redundancy but in your situation it might be better not to agree?

@fairgroundsnack
Yep, agreed. I quite like the idea of bringing holiday forward though, just in case the business isn't there to come back to, as it were.
And utter minefield for employees and employers alike atm!

And, OP, we're assuming you're being furloughed at 80% rather than 100%, hence the consent element. Because there's so much to unpack, the immediate thing to do (if you haven't already given your agreement) is to postpone the date for agreement of the furlough so you can think through the options properly.

It must be particularly stressful dealing with all of this in your final trimester

Thank you @nowlook and @fairgroundsnack that's really helpful. Everyone else who was to be furloughed has already stopped working and had to agree by the end of yesterday. They asked me to confirm by then too but was waiting on a response from HR. So I've not agreed to anything yet thankfully.

I did email them stating the financial impact it's having but it's gone on deaf ears so I can't see them going for the holiday pay pre me going on mat leave. It is a worry that they won't be there to pay me my hol when I'm due to return.

It has been very stressful, that on top of the changing birth rules I've been a bit of a mess the last few days so it's nice just to have people to talk it through with so thank you both

No problem, @Whattodo62

As with all things, the way you will approach it successfully will depend on the company and its circumstances. Your own financial circumstances are a bit of a red herring.

How many employees?
How many being furloughed?
What's the company's current financial position (you'll know this one!)?
Anyone else in finance being furloughed?
How many holidays do you have and when does your holiday year run?
Are you self-isolating at the moment?
How long have you been there?
Any in-house lawyers there?
What's the HR team like in terms of experience?
When's your due date?
How have they been during your pregnancy generally?
Are you in a union?
Are they furloughing you at 80%?
Is the furlough from now right up until your mat leave starts?

Reaching agreement is always better than being combative, but sometimes it can't be avoided.

Obviously, you don't need to answer all the above questions, but if you'd just like to talk through with someone, feel free to PM me.

Glad that helped - I think the important thing to remember is that you are still an employee and entitled to the same protections under employment law as previously. The only thing that has changed is that you and your employer can agree that you be furloughed, usually as an alternative to redundancy which is better for both parties. If you don't want to be furloughed, they then have to decide if they can make you redundant, using a proper process. You would still have your holiday and maternity pay even if you were made redundant. This is assuming you have more than two years' continuous employment with them.