Furlough issues

[LRE19]

I started furlough a couple of weeks ago. My employer has now extended it until the end of June.

All the men in the department remain working. I am the only female in the department. The company are not rotating people on furlough which means I could be on it for months on very very reduced pay. Meanwhile the unqualified men are sat WFH on almost full salary.

At the beginning of furlough my boss was expecting me to check emails and forward them to people which I declined to do as I can receive a huge amount of emails on a daily basis and it would have meant being logged on working virtually for the entire day. He accepted this.

Now he has started asking for timesheets to be completed for accounts and he has started emailing the requests to my personal email account. We usually bill hourly to clients but obviously being on furlough I can’t bill anything as I’m not technically working.

Anyway he has also wanted weekly check in meetings which he refers to as a welfare check however the reality is it isn’t. After a short period of people talking nonsense he finds a way to end the call with them and then starts asking work related questions when he shouldn’t be.

Anyway today I have emailed and said I can’t undertake these activities as it constitutes providing a service.

I don’t want to be difficult but at the same time he has no boundaries and I don’t want to be accused of fraudulent behaviour if I participate.

I also think these check in sessions are designed to suit his agenda and it’s a way of him checking up on me and seeing if I’m doing other paid work.

This man has historically thought it was appropriate to ask how much I have in my bank and how much I have on credit card. He has no boundaries.

Do you think I am being reasonable?

TBH I think I might be better off to ask for redundancy at the end of the furlough period. I feel totally cut off from the team and I can’t see myself wanting to go back. It would be like starting again there which I don’t want to do.

Why was it just you furloughed? What was the selection criteria?

You’re not being unreasonable, you’re not allowed to do ANY work on furlough. There’s no need for weekly check ins either. Tell him you’re happy to work if he removes you from furlough, but if not there is no reason to contact you unless it’s to take you off furlough

Why were you furloughed two weeks ago op and only you? Did you ask to be furloughed?

Thanks everyone for your replies.

The selection criteria was based on work reviews. I was rated very good in every category. I’ve only had one assessment and when the paperwork was done he said he never gave excellent.

The boss put the administrative team all on furlough and didn’t tell anyone until he sent out a letter 3 weeks later. I think this is sneaky. He then asked for volunteers. Several juniors offered as it made no difference to their salary. It was not enough people - he wanted 25.

Nobody on my team offered. I was selected. Probably because I’m highest paid and highest qualified.

It is going to be difficult to go back. I feel like it’s been mid managed and put on us with no notice.

Prior to working here I had my own company and clients. I was looking to bring them onboard but now I didn’t due to various issues so I have that work to fall back on if I leave this one.

Maybe I’m being sensitive but on the basis I was given no notice to go on furlough, a very rushed conversation, no furlough rotation, and a drop of around 50% in basic income I’m tempted not to go back and keep the work I have for myself.

If I did give them the work now I would not get any commission. They stopped that too.

My boss has really dropped me in it from a great height. I have trust issues now I think

I don’t really understand your Company OP, but it sounds nothing like furlough.

This doesn’t make sense. Surely the most qualified are the ones you want to keep on? What do you do?

Your manager is leaving the company wide open for a discrimination claim, if furlough moves to redundancy. Do you have an HR department to speak with? They won't want him to be sending you time sheets and might be a bit concerned about choosing the only woman and the highest qualified for furlough (though this might also depend on the reviews or other output measures of the men around you).

Are you keeping records of all these requests? I would, if you aren't already. Also, you can only be furloughed with your permission - did they get that?

Of course if you don't give permission, they could make you redundant... But if they have entirely not followed procedure and then treated you in this way you might both want redundancy and be able to argue for a generous package to go quietly. I'd only do it if work is terrible and you have plenty of savings / a well positioned high earning partner, as jobs won't be easy to come by for a bit...

There is no HR department.

I am responsible for mentoring the juniors but now on furlough not allowed. They are due to sit exams in July and TBH they won’t pass because they have not had the mentoring they needed.

I’m hoping other work comes in which I’ve got in the pipeline already.

Yes I’m keeping copies of everything.

I did agree to temporary change to go on furlough but temporary means temporary.

I will keep all the evidence. Store it up and then pounce on him for a settlement agreement if need be. I’m a lawyer so happy to litigate. He’s fully aware of my background!!

I don’t think he realises he’s discriminating. He’s just uneducated. God knows how he got to the position he is in!