Furlough

joanmcg129

Hi can anyone advise
I started a new job in March and my current employer says they can't pay as I wasn't a employee on the 28th February.

My previous employer says they haven't applied for Furlough status

Any suggestions please. Thank you

Jeremy535897

If you started a new job in March and are getting paid, is there a problem? Are you about to be laid off?
Your current employer is correct. If your previous employer isn't operating the job retention scheme that's their choice. If you left voluntarily they couldn't help anyway.

joanmcg129

Hi 
No. My current employer says they are not paying me.  So currently I have no income coming in and no idea how I will receive any monies whilst this situation continues.  It is very worrying. 

yksi

Firstly if your previous employer is in shutdown mode and if you are on good terms with them, ask politely whether they would take you back and then immediately furlough you, this will cost them nothing and get you 80% of your previous salary.

Why is the current employer not paying for the work you have already done? If you work/worked for them it's illegal for them to just not pay you. They CAN sack you immediately, but they do have to pay what you earned. If there is no work for you to do due to COVID-19, they can designate you as furloughed, which keeps you on the books but you both agree not to actually work until things pick up. It costs them nothing and the govt will pay them 80% of your salary which they then give to you. They might not understand how it works. Get some info to them to explain and see if they will agree to apply.

InA

yksi said:

Firstly if your previous employer is in shutdown mode and if you are on good terms with them, ask politely whether they would take you back and then immediately furlough you, this will cost them nothing and get you 80% of your previous salary.

Why is the current employer not paying for the work you have already done? If you work/worked for them it's illegal for them to just not pay you. They CAN sack you immediately, but they do have to pay what you earned. If there is no work for you to do due to COVID-19, they can designate you as furloughed, which keeps you on the books but you both agree not to actually work until things pick up. It costs them nothing and the govt will pay them 80% of your salary which they then give to you. They might not understand how it works. Get some info to them to explain and see if they will agree to apply.

The scheme is for employers to retain employees, who would then go back to work for that employer after being furloughed. It's not an income protection scheme that just happens to be administered by the employer with whom you were registered on 28th February 2020. If an employer took back a former employee in the way that has been suggested, it would be fraudulent.

It sounds like the current employer is furloughing employees, but the OP was not on their payroll on the 28th February and hence has been asked to take unpaid leave. The former employer is not furloughing employees, but this is irrelevant since the OP appears to have left voluntarily to take another job, as opposed to being made redundant because of Covid-19 impact.