Stuck abroad - furlough options

delta13

Hi,

I have a colleague who is currently stuck abroad and will not be able to travel back to the UK before the end of June. I am trying to support them as the time difference makes it really difficult for them to be in touch with our bosses and HR team.

They are looking to be furloughed/ receive paid leave but we aren't sure they meet the criteria on the basis that:

1. They are not suffering from Covid-19 symptoms, not classed as high risk, and not in isolation due to someone else being unwell/ high risk.
2. They travelled on March 22nd, when I believe the advice provided by the government was that non-essential travel should be avoided. For clarification, the reasons for travel were not essential and they were travelling to their home country (they are not a UK citizen but have worked here for the past 5 years). 
3. They were aware when travelling that they may be stuck abroad for longer than expected, and had discussed options with a line manager (but not their own). The agreement at the time was that they could take 2 weeks paid holiday leave, and the rest would be unpaid.
4. If the colleague was in the UK they would be expected to work, either in the office or be provided the necessary equipment to work from home and therefor wouldn't be furloughed anyway.

I can't find anything that might suggest they would qualify so I'm at a loss at how best to help. Does anyone know if there's been cases like this or guidance issued by the Gov?

Thanks

Jeremy535897

I don't think items 1 to 3 are relevant for furlough. The bigger issue is that they would not be furloughed if they were actually in the UK. All you can do on their behalf is query the possibility with the employer. There has been no guidance on what is a rare set of circumstances.

Mrsn

Number 4 would be the most relevant point but to be honest it probably leads to the answer of furlough being no in the circumstances described.

Retireby40

They shouldn't receive full pay. There has to be some form of punishment for being stupid and selfish and this is one of them. They travelled know that the world was shutting down. Knowing that there was a high chance they couldn't return. That's on them. Hopefully they have plenty of savings