Furlough advice

sadiesilver

Hello 👋🏻 I’m a new forum member although I read advice on the site regularly and have done for years, amazing help provided over the years! I’ve got a specific dilemma that I hope someone would have knowledge on from an employee perspective. I was furloughed at the start of April on 80% pay. The company stated in the letter to me that it was anticipated to last for two months but subject to change in line with business needs. My understanding was that it had to be for a minimum of 3 weeks, but this is not stated in the letter. the company  called me on Friday to say they want to take me off furlough early and have me work from home full time but on 80% pay. None of my other colleagues has been asked to do this but effectively we will all be receiving the same % of our wages with none of them working but me working full time. To put it into perspective, the majority of the tasks I have been told I will be doing are not part of my current role (but I have experience of doing them in the past), ordinarily they would be done by a combination of at least four other members of staff. But the company only wants to pay one member of staff so the short straw has fallen to me. As it stands, all of my colleagues will be paid 80% for at least 8 weeks of non-working time while I will be performing tasks that would usually be part of their role, not my own. I have stated verbally that I don’t think this is a fair deal for me but told that I’ve been chosen due to having the most varied skill set and therefore able to cover more ground. This is a lot of pressure on me and I’m starting to resent my other colleagues, through no fault of their own. it’s also having a real effect on my own mental health, isolated as I live on my own, and long term attitude towards working for the company. Do I have any rights in this situation? 

sharpe106

They can cancel furlough whenever they like, but they can only claim for a minimum of 3 weeks. It depends on your contract if they can reduce your pay to 80% or not.

unholyangel

Have you asked them why they're only offering 80%? 
Personally I'd be asking for a higher wage (higher than 100%), if they're expecting you to do the work of others. It will still be cheaper for them than having to take several staff members off furlough, as they will only get help with the wage costs of employees who are furloughed and who are furloughed longer than 3 weeks. 

sadiesilver

Thanks for the replies, their stance at the moment is to pay those who are working  80% to cut costs and avoid making redundancies. I’m trying to see the bigger picture but it feels very harsh personally right now. I guess my main concern is trying to fight the 80% and being the only person working, then ending up being made redundant further down the line because I’ve disagreed with this if I don’t have any rights in this situation. Feels like myself and other similar workers are backed into a corner. 

sliphi

sadiesilver said:

Hello 👋🏻 I’m a new forum member although I read advice on the site regularly and have done for years, amazing help provided over the years! I’ve got a specific dilemma that I hope someone would have knowledge on from an employee perspective. I was furloughed at the start of April on 80% pay. The company stated in the letter to me that it was anticipated to last for two months but subject to change in line with business needs. My understanding was that it had to be for a minimum of 3 weeks, but this is not stated in the letter. the company  called me on Friday to say they want to take me off furlough early and have me work from home full time but on 80% pay. None of my other colleagues has been asked to do this but effectively we will all be receiving the same % of our wages with none of them working but me working full time. To put it into perspective, the majority of the tasks I have been told I will be doing are not part of my current role (but I have experience of doing them in the past), ordinarily they would be done by a combination of at least four other members of staff. But the company only wants to pay one member of staff so the short straw has fallen to me. As it stands, all of my colleagues will be paid 80% for at least 8 weeks of non-working time while I will be performing tasks that would usually be part of their role, not my own. I have stated verbally that I don’t think this is a fair deal for me but told that I’ve been chosen due to having the most varied skill set and therefore able to cover more ground. This is a lot of pressure on me and I’m starting to resent my other colleagues, through no fault of their own. it’s also having a real effect on my own mental health, isolated as I live on my own, and long term attitude towards working for the company. Do I have any rights in this situation? 

Please post a copy of your furlough agreement that you agreed to. (remove personal information first)
 I'm feel sure it will state what you agreed to even if you can't remember.

sadiesilver

sliphi said:

sadiesilver said:

Hello 👋🏻 I’m a new forum member although I read advice on the site regularly and have done for years, amazing help provided over the years! I’ve got a specific dilemma that I hope someone would have knowledge on from an employee perspective. I was furloughed at the start of April on 80% pay. The company stated in the letter to me that it was anticipated to last for two months but subject to change in line with business needs. My understanding was that it had to be for a minimum of 3 weeks, but this is not stated in the letter. the company  called me on Friday to say they want to take me off furlough early and have me work from home full time but on 80% pay. None of my other colleagues has been asked to do this but effectively we will all be receiving the same % of our wages with none of them working but me working full time. To put it into perspective, the majority of the tasks I have been told I will be doing are not part of my current role (but I have experience of doing them in the past), ordinarily they would be done by a combination of at least four other members of staff. But the company only wants to pay one member of staff so the short straw has fallen to me. As it stands, all of my colleagues will be paid 80% for at least 8 weeks of non-working time while I will be performing tasks that would usually be part of their role, not my own. I have stated verbally that I don’t think this is a fair deal for me but told that I’ve been chosen due to having the most varied skill set and therefore able to cover more ground. This is a lot of pressure on me and I’m starting to resent my other colleagues, through no fault of their own. it’s also having a real effect on my own mental health, isolated as I live on my own, and long term attitude towards working for the company. Do I have any rights in this situation? 

Please post a copy of your furlough agreement that you agreed to. (remove personal information first)
 I'm feel sure it will state what you agreed to even if you can't remember.

Hello, I’ve seen you asking other members to do this in a lot of other threads, but the wording on my letter is very specific to the company and I’m not going to risk posting this. The initial furlough letter doesn’t mention details relating to the question I’m asking about, so that’s why I’m asking here. There seems to be a lot of helpful and knowledgeable members on the forums, which is great for people like myself with specific queries that aren’t covered in some of the more generic articles and threads. 

sharpe106

The furlough agreement will have no relevance to them making you work again and for only 80%. Are they still expecting you to do 100% of your previous hours for the 80% or 80% hours for 80% pay? Do not worry too much about what others are getting, it is never going to be fair.

unholyangel

sadiesilver said:

Thanks for the replies, their stance at the moment is to pay those who are working  80% to cut costs and avoid making redundancies. I’m trying to see the bigger picture but it feels very harsh personally right now. I guess my main concern is trying to fight the 80% and being the only person working, then ending up being made redundant further down the line because I’ve disagreed with this if I don’t have any rights in this situation. Feels like myself and other similar workers are backed into a corner. 

Well I did stress it's what I'd do personally. But I also save and have been fortunate to amass enough that I could stop working tomorrow and not have to worry for a considerable time. 

Be careful about setting a rod for your own back and also undervaluing yourself. Particularly if you are in a skill/qualified role. Resentment can quickly destroy any relationship. I'd definitely be negotiating something. Whether that be extra pay when work picks back up (assuming the industry is likely to pick back up and won't still be at risk) or perhaps doing it for 1 week as a trial before committing. But I'd still go for more than 80% - otherwise you'll actually be working for less than your colleagues who are not working. 

And I'd definitely question why 80% specifically. It's a bit too much of a coincidence they're offering to pay you exactly what they can reclaim under CJRS if you are furloughed. 

sadiesilver

sharpe106 said:

The furlough agreement will have no relevance to them making you work again and for only 80%. Are they still expecting you to do 100% of your previous hours for the 80% or 80% hours for 80% pay? Do not worry too much about what others are getting, it is never going to be fair.

Verbally I was told it would be 100% hours for 80% pay. Depending on the workload expectations I’m actually worried I may end up doing more hours than usual, if that ends up being the case I’ll need to try and ask for other colleagues to be unfurloughed to help me . I don’t think I’ll have it in writing until Tuesday at the earliest due to the bank holiday weekend

sadiesilver

unholyangel said:

sadiesilver said:

Thanks for the replies, their stance at the moment is to pay those who are working  80% to cut costs and avoid making redundancies. I’m trying to see the bigger picture but it feels very harsh personally right now. I guess my main concern is trying to fight the 80% and being the only person working, then ending up being made redundant further down the line because I’ve disagreed with this if I don’t have any rights in this situation. Feels like myself and other similar workers are backed into a corner. 

Well I did stress it's what I'd do personally. But I also save and have been fortunate to amass enough that I could stop working tomorrow and not have to worry for a considerable time. 

Be careful about setting a rod for your own back and also undervaluing yourself. Particularly if you are in a skill/qualified role. Resentment can quickly destroy any relationship. I'd definitely be negotiating something. Whether that be extra pay when work picks back up (assuming the industry is likely to pick back up and won't still be at risk) or perhaps doing it for 1 week as a trial before committing. But I'd still go for more than 80% - otherwise you'll actually be working for less than your colleagues who are not working. 

And I'd definitely question why 80% specifically. It's a bit too much of a coincidence they're offering to pay you exactly what they can reclaim under CJRS if you are furloughed. 

Thanks, some really good points here. My own level of savings would probably get me by for around three months, I admire super savers like yourself! 

calcotti

sadiesilver said: Feels like myself and other similar workers are backed into a corner. 

There is a lot of employment law being ignored at the moment. It's tough on the workforce. For employers too it's tough, many small business owners will have bank guarantees and their homes as well as their livelihoods may be at risk. Everybody is trying to get through but it's impossible to plan not knowing how long the current disruption will last.

Your situation does seem unfair but one way of looking at it is that if your employer decides they need to make redundancies perhaps you are more secure than some of your colleagues.