Furlough 80% wages

jimmyjammy001

Just wondering why the 80% payment the government are making to people is not a part loan? Which could be added as an additional tax to people who have taken it out, People will be using the free money to pay off their mortgages and day to day living expenses, is this not what people keep emergency funds by for? Then ask for Governments help if it goes on past a few months, I get that is is to save jobs but you will be at home not working and when the time comes go back to work, I also understand people would rather be at work on full pay but unfortunately that can not be the case, seems that everyone will have to pay higher taxes in due course for this and the austerity measures that are going to take place over the next X amount of years will be worse than the past 10 years, it is hardly surprising that supermarkets can not get enough staff to stack shelfs or do delivery's in this time of need/high unemployment when you are alot better off staying at home not working. If it was a part loan people would be more inclined to go out and work in a minium wage key worker role to top up their wages. 

duggan1

The payment isn't to people, it's to the company for wages already paid. So your employer would keep paying you and the Govt will reimburse them 80% of your salary up to £2500 per month. Whether you still get full salary is up to your company and you to agree on, or they can change your contract.

hazyjo

People don't choose to take it. It's an alternative to redundancy so these people aren't all out of a job and to desperately try to keep companies afloat who won't have to pay wages for those furloughed. At the end of the 3 months, the Gov may extend the scheme or, if not, those people still risk being made redundant.

Anamox

I would assume most people that are furloughed are probably also on a mortgage holiday. 

This is money to add certainty to uncertain times and is essentially solidifying the future: once this is over we will likely have the same level of workforce and home ownership and personal debt repayments as before.

We all know if it was a loan scheme there would be thousands, if not millions, who would be made unfairly ineligible and will end up in financial ruin over it. We also know that if thousands, or millions, default on their payments it’ll be the nation that pays for when the private sector collapses. 

I don’t think many are happy that they are furloughed, and I don’t believe you can just go and work for Tesco’s whilst you are furloughed. Certainly employees in my company wouldn’t be allowed to do that. So don’t be assuming shops are struggling when there is a huge amount of furloughed workforce that can take their shoes... most supermarkets likely wouldn’t take on these people anyway, their own messy bureaucracy would prohibit it with requirements for maths GCSEs or a reference from their current employer.

numbercruncher8

The answer is pretty simple I would think.
There are quite a lot of households living paycheck to paycheck, a loan would add to their debts, even if it was charged at 0%.
It would be better for the government to make the measure generous to start rather than make it too stingy and have to revisit it and top it up.
I don't believe the Conservatives have much sympathy for those who need the payments. It is after all, financially responsible for one to have savings. Most people could find themselves out of work for a few months out of no fault of their own even in the good times.
But if they did nothing, or did too little people would remember and they would be voted out at the next election.
What might not be so clear is that once the period is over there will be still many people out of work as the economy may take a while to churn new jobs, then what? Personally I feel the payments are too high, essentially we are borrowing from our kids and grandkids taxes to keep things the same.

RelievedSheff

We have found ourselves in the position where my OH is currently furloughed and will be receiving 80% of his wages. I am currently on full pay as I am able to work from home.

We moved house this time last year so we don't have a huge amount of savings, so in our case it is really very helpful that the OH will be receiving the majority of his pay. We could have managed if he got nothing but it would have been tight. With his furlough pay we can continue to pay the full mortgage amount rather then take a mortgage holiday and acru more interest on the balance.

We really did not expect the amount of furlough pay to be quite so generous but it should help keep a lot of people in their jobs where otherwise they would be made redundant.

bucksbloke

A tad unfair. A lot of the people who are currently furloughed are people who will also have children in schools or childminders, which are currently closed. So they are probably still working - looking after their kids, being parent, teacher, social worker, chef, cleaner as well. 

Soot2006

Speaking form the perspective of someone who is deciding who to furlough as of 1st April, I can tell you it's not the enviable outcome. We're selecting the people we feel we can manage without while there isn't any work i.e. anyone who won't help the strategic advancement of the company. Our most creative and innovative employees are being kept on as they will, ultimately, help  us to survive this. So the people we're putting on furlough are the people who would have to be made redundant if the furlough option didn't exist. It's  creating a two tier feeling as people are reflecting on their value to the business. Some people are integral to business success, while others are just there to do work on the ground. Now the work on the ground is gone, they know where they stand I wouldn't blame them for leaving once/if that opportunity presents in the future. So in my industry (education), it's not being seen as a paid holiday (we are topping up to 100% salary) but as a sign of not being vital to business success. And that's not a nice feeling.

hazyjo

Just been furloughed myself today

Splatfoot

hazyjo said:

Just been furloughed myself today

Me too 

hazyjo

Think there'll be loads of others. There should be tighter restrictions on which companies can do it, but I'm not complaining too loudly as I may have been out of a job otherwise! 

So many companies taking advantage of it (in both senses of the phrase).