Furlough help

Johnny2410

I have been put on furlough and have been sent a document to sign, this essentially changes my contract. The bit that worries me reads;
When your furlough leave ends, in the event that there is still disruption on provision for work and accordingly a diminution in the requirements of the buisness for work of a kind for which you are employed, or any other occurrence affecting the normal working of the business in relation to the work you are employed to do, we reserve the right not to provide you with any work without any pay except for statutory guarantee payments. 
I have worked full time for the last 31 years and now it seems they can lay me off without pay whenever they want. 
Am I reading this correct, should I sign it? 

Jeremy535897

Is this a document a lot of people have been asked to sign? If so, what do your co-workers think?
If you have 31 years' service with them, they face quite a big statutory redundancy bill if they make you redundant instead of furloughing you.

Johnny2410

In my side there are 3, I'm thinking that this is a way of not paying redundancy as after furlough I will still be officially employed even though they can tell me there's no work, go home, no pay

Jeremy535897

I'm not an employment lawyer, so I have to be cautious about what I say. First, you need to check your contract of employment only entitles you to statutory redundancy pay (what I say next might change if you have more generous terms at present).
I could well be wrong, but I too would be suspicious. I don't know how reasonable your employer is, and how openly you can discuss things with him, but I would ask why they are putting you on what looks like a zero hours contract after 31 years. I would also ask why they seem to believe that their business might not pick up at the same time as other businesses. I say this because if times are bad for most businesses, logically the furlough scheme will be extended, so just what are they worrying about? I would also say that after 31 years loyal service, you are concerned that they want to make you redundant in a few months, and are trying to avoid a big statutory redundancy payment by reducing your wages first.
Now they may say "of course not, what do you take us for?" To that you reply along the lines of "in that case, you won't mind including in the wording that my redundancy pay will be based on my pay at 28 February 2020, unless the statutory redundancy would be higher, and you won't mind paying me as you have done for the last 31 years, once this is over."

Johnny2410

Thanks for that, very helpful, I should add I have worked for this employer for 6 years who bought out our previous company but gave us continued service.
They are a very unreasonable company so no I won't be able to approach them and get a good outcome. 
This has only happened as I have got multiple sclerosis and the occupational therapist said I "shouldn't" be on the shop floor, but this was not mandatory, I previously rotated between office work and shop floor work. 

Johnny2410

Also by effectively putting me on a zero hours contract, will that get the company out of any redundancy payments, as I will still be officially employed? 

Galloglass

Johnny2410 said:

Also by effectively putting me on a zero hours contract, will that get the company out of any redundancy payments, as I will still be officially employed? 

Have a word with ACAS on that one. See link below.

The idea of the furlough is that your terms from 28/2/20 are temporarily varied to accommodate the government scheme. It appears this zero hours approach could be used to argue a permanent change though not the intent of the legislation. ACAS will advise how to word any approach. Bear in mind that you have the opportunity after 4 weeks in furlough to apply and get redundancy anyway. ACAS will advise again.

I can see the Employment lawyers lining up when all this is over.