Unable to work due to child care, employer won't offer furlough

kirstylbrandon

Hi all, not sure if anyone can help. I am a single parent of a 3 year old whose nursery has closed due to the coronavirus. I also can work my normal hours (normally until 10pm twice a week as grandparents are unable to offer childcare under governments advice.) 

I've asked to be put on furlough but employers have refused, does anyone know what i can do? 

FindMyWayBack

I hope you get some help, sorry I don't have an answer. Have you read all Martin's articles on the main website?

Hermann

Furlough is entirely at the employers discretion, if they don't want to there is nothing you can do to compel them.

Have you checked the online calculators to see if you could qualify for Universal credit, assuming your not currently getting tax credits in which case don't apply for UC until you've done further research?

calcotti

This has been covered over and over again on numerous threads. There is no entitlement to be furloughed. An employer can choose to furlough an employee if they wish to retain an employee on the payroll but have no work for them.

If needed look at eligibility for Universal Credit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/. 

There are online calculators to help you assess entitlement  https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

Be aware that claiming UC will end any Tax Credits, Housing Benefit or other means tested benefits you currently get. If you are getting these try and check your entitlement before deciding whether to claim UC.

You will be excluded from UC if you have savings over £16,000.

You may also be able to claim Council Tax Reduction from your local council.

Mrsn

Are are you classed as a key worker? If so there is a possibility you may be able to find an alternative nursery/childminder as they can still accept the children of key workers in, I realise this isn’t an ideal solution but you will not be eligible for the furlough scheme on the basis of childcare issues.

Sadly lots and lots of people seem to think that it is there to help with all aspects of employment whilst in these uncertain times however it is only there to provide back up assistance for jobs that are otherwise at risk. 

doningtonphil

It's not necessarily that they WON'T furlough you, more that they CAN'T!
If they have customers/an order book/income then they won't be able to justify laying staff off once the scheme (eventually) gets up and running

kirstylbrandon

Thank you everybody for your advice and feedback. The thing i'm contacting advice on is HMRC saying ALL employers can use the furlough scheme and also Martin Lewis today posted asking employers to use it for those who can't get child care? 

Undervalued

kirstylbrandon said:

Thank you everybody for your advice and feedback. The thing i'm contacting advice on is HMRC saying ALL employers can use the furlough scheme and also Martin Lewis today posted asking employers to use it for those who can't get child care? 

I'm sorry for your situation but "can use" is not the same as "must use" and with all due respect to him, what ML is "asking" for is irrelevant.

diggingdude

There have to be fairly strict rules otherwise the system is open to abuse.  If one could be furloughed due to child care many more people would stop working

yksi

kirstylbrandon said:

Thank you everybody for your advice and feedback. The thing i'm contacting advice on is HMRC saying ALL employers can use the furlough scheme and also Martin Lewis today posted asking employers to use it for those who can't get child care? 

Furlough is ONLY if there is no work available for you. If the business is still running and your work is sitting there waiting for you then your childcare problem is not the reason and furlough does not apply.

mattyprice4004

As above, furlough isn't for childcare issues - it's for when work dries up. 
It's also completely optional, you do not under any circumstances have any entitlement to furlough. Your employer's choice entirely.