Furlough as a supermarket worker

knightygirl2

My 19 year old daughter has worked for Tesco since leaving school with her contracted hours only being 8 but has worked triple that amount each week for months now, the problem now is that she is basically being told she has to work otherwise she doesn’t get paid but yet she/we have a family where she lives of 4 including a baby and of which one being me, her mother, who has had pneumonia in the last recent months and am on regular medication for high blood pressure so as I see am in the high risk priority and so obviously neither her me or the rest of the family want her to work under these circumstances. She has told her boss this and has been advised to take a ‘lifestyle break’ which I understand means she won’t get paid? What are her options as I think it’s disgusting that she has no option but to work as she’s a keyworker or she doesn’t get paid??!! 

sharpe106

knightygirl2 said:

What are her options as I think it’s disgusting that she has no option but to work as she’s a keyworker or she doesn’t get paid??!! 

Surely if everybody took that attitude nobody would be working. 

poppy12345

There's lots of key workers that have no option to work but they take extra care when returning home from work by removing clothes and putting them straight into the wash, not entering the house with your work shoes on, wiping down door handles once you've touched them and showering/bathing as soon as you come you from work.

As work is available to your daughter then she won't be furloughed for this reason because this is not what furlough was introduced for.

7Phil

That's right - she will need to work to be paid.
Her employer is effectively saying that they understand her choice not to work and are giving her permission for unpaid leave, thus allowing her to keep her job and return to work at her leisure, after this period ends.
There is nothing about this situation that suggests that she can expect to be paid for the time not working.

The employer could be also within their rights to order her to continue to work her designated shifts and unauthorised absences will be dealt with as a disciplinary matter. That is not the case here. Thankfully she is being given a choice and is being shown leniency.

There are many people in a similar situation - mostly key workers. Nurses are being sequestered away from their families to live in isolation and continue working.
Many families are needing to make adjustments in the household to lower the risk the worker brings the virus home and transfer it to vulnerable people within the home.

suki1964

please google how nurses are managing to work and still protect their families