Two jobs - one full time one furlough - am I doing anything wrong?

JamesH13

This might be a long one. I’ll start by saying that, financially, I may be one of the few people the COVID-19 isn’t having a negative impact on. In fact the opposite, which doesn’t quite feel right!

So I worked at a cinema on an 8 hour per week contract from October 2019 - Present, my average hours throughout this period were closer to 20-30 per week. However I started a new position full-time at the end of March 2020, I had agreed with the cinema to stay on part time and do the minimum 8 hours over the weekend/at night. At the time this was good for me because I didn’t want to start the new job, and after 3 months not pass probation or not enjoy it and not have anything to fall back on. 

But then the outbreak had started to become a problem in the UK so before I started the new position I had been furloughed by the cinema, when agreeing to furlough with them I was told that being furloughed and having a second job was ok, the cinema were aware when furloughing me that my hours were due to change because of a new position. 

I started the new full-time job without issues, the company honoured my contract and start date and provided me with what I needed to work from home. At some point next week I expect my first monthly pay from them. 

This means I will soon be in the position of receiving furlough money from the cinema, I expect this to be at 80% of roughly 25hours per week (the cinema will pay out of pocket and claim back from the govt) as well as a full-time salary from my second position. This is despite having agreed to drop my hours down at the cinema to the bare minimum. 

This would mean my monthly income when on full-time pay and 80% of a 25hour per week furlough will be around £400-500 per month more than if the outbreak had not happened and I worked two jobs. 

Am I doing anything wrong here? Am I just fortunate that it worked out this way? Or should I be getting in contact with someone to try and give some money back?

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
James

calcotti

You are not doing anything wrong. You have no role in the furlough process, it's your employer who deals with the process.
If your jobs are with two separate employers it's fine.
However I am not clear from your post whether both jobs are with the same employer. In that case the employer cannot claim help from the government for one job while you still do the other. They can still choose to 'furlough' you and pay you 80% - they just will not be able to claim it back.

JamesH13

calcotti said:

You are not doing anything wrong. You have no role in the furlough process, it's your employer who deals with the process.
If your jobs are with two separate employers it's fine.
However I am not clear from your post whether both jobs are with the same employer. In that case the employer cannot claim help from the government for one job while you still do the other. They can still choose to 'furlough' you and pay you 80% - they just will not be able to claim it back.

Thank you. Yes they are two
separate employers, one is the cinema and the other is a property management company. 

calcotti

JamesH13 said:

calcotti said:

You are not doing anything wrong. You have no role in the furlough process, it's your employer who deals with the process.
If your jobs are with two separate employers it's fine.
However I am not clear from your post whether both jobs are with the same employer. In that case the employer cannot claim help from the government for one job while you still do the other. They can still choose to 'furlough' you and pay you 80% - they just will not be able to claim it back.

Thank you. Yes they are two
separate employers, one is the cinema and the other is a property management company. 

In which case it's fine.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-could-be-covered-by-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

If you currently have more than one employer
You can be put on furlough by one employer and continue to work for another. If you’re put on furlough by more than one employer, you’ll receive separate payments from each employer. The 80% of your regular wage up to a £2,500 monthly cap applies to each job.

paolalopez118

You are not doing anything wrong, it is very common today to have several jobs to cover personal expenses and if the employers are different there is no problem

Hermann

It's fine, crack on!

The government is throwing ££Billions around, refreshing to hear from someone who is actually getting some of it!

The overall purpose of the schemes is to support the economy and stimulate demand.
To that end if you have more money than before then hopefully you'll end up spending more than before, you'll have to do something with your Brucie Bonus!

That extra spend is just the stimulus that's intended.