Furlough when work available

Black_Cat2

Hi
My employer is looking to furlough me even though there is still work available.  They will be keeping on my colleague to do my job.  She only covers my work when I am on holiday.  Are they allowed to do this?  I thought furlough is meant for jobs that no longer have workloads?  Also can I refuse to be furloughed on this basis or will I be sacked? 
Please help! 

Jeremy535897

If they can run their business without you for now, but expect to need you when things improve, that's what the scheme is for.
Here is the guidance to employees who do not wish to be furloughed:

"If you do not want to go on furlough

If your employer asks you to go on furlough and you refuse you may be at risk of redundancy or termination of employment, depending on the circumstances of your employer. However, this must be in line with normal redundancy rules and protections."

Black_Cat2

Hi, thanks for the reply. I'm more concerned she is doing my job, not her job, surely that isn't fair?

Hasbeen

Black_Cat2 said:

Hi, thanks for the reply. I'm more concerned she is doing my job, not her job, surely that isn't fair?

Perhaps the reason is, she covers your work when you are on holiday and presumably also does her own work.

At this time at least for a while the company does not need you.

Mrsn

The scheme is optional and everything is completely decided by the employer in terms of when and who to furlough.

As Jeremy said you can of course challenge the decision but to be honest they are protecting your role as they see fit, I appreciate you disagree with that. If the drop in income is the main concern here then you may become eligible for Universal Credit to help in the meantime.

7Phil

I don't think we have enough information to understand the situation fully, or why you feel this is an issue.
Facts: You have a job and you have a colleague. She back-fills for you when you are on leave.

Let's assume you two are their only employees and let's also assume your employer is affected by the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and can only keep one of you employed.
You can be furloughed. If you don't agree they may need to furlough your colleague. If both of you refuse to agree to be furloughed then they might need to be forced to make one of you two redundant.

I see you say there is workload but that might not exactly mean keeping both your jobs will be financially viable. If it was then surely they would keep you both on.

If you are on furlough your colleague might need to chip in to cover your absence. If she is asked to do long-term higher-duties she could argue to be paid a higher rate for filling your role.

adriandilly

You are probably furloughed because you were paid more than your colleague and they were wanting to cut costs. See it as a win

Black_Cat2

Yes I was overly concerned and all came good in the end, very stressful for everyone ty 🙏