Refused Furlough

Welshcakez

Hi Guys, 

Any help here would be much appreciated. 

I am in the high risk health category with an immune problem. Due to the inability isolate in our home and with two small children my wife has been told not to come into work by her manager and also following the NHS guidance to stay at home in this scenario. 

My wife works for a large building society and they have decided to not use the furlough scheme or pay my wife. She has not been paid for the last month. 
I can't see any reason why they would not sign up to the scheme other than for the kudos of telling their members that they didn't need to use it and sod the staff they have put in financial difficulty. 

Where do we stand legally on this, surely they can't put her on unagreed unpaid leave indefinitely? 

Thanks

gary83

The business doesn’t have to furlough anyone. I think it’s more likely they chose not to use it as they don’t want the expense of paying holidays, administering the scheme etc. In addition I expect banks/building societies are busier than normal dealing with mortgage, loan & overdraft repayment issues - by agreeing to furlough one worker they fear the floodgates might open for the rest of their staff.

in the meantime, as you can’t force anyone to furlough. Have you looked into what benefits you’d be entitled to?

Undervalued

Welshcakez said:

Hi Guys, 

Any help here would be much appreciated. 

I am in the high risk health category with an immune problem. Due to the inability isolate in our home and with two small children my wife has been told not to come into work by her manager and also following the NHS guidance to stay at home in this scenario. 

My wife works for a large building society and they have decided to not use the furlough scheme or pay my wife. She has not been paid for the last month. 
I can't see any reason why they would not sign up to the scheme other than for the kudos of telling their members that they didn't need to use it and sod the staff they have put in financial difficulty. 

Where do we stand legally on this, surely they can't put her on unagreed unpaid leave indefinitely? 

Thanks

They can't stop her from going to work if she insists on doing so. Or at least if they did it would put her in a stronger position!

However, she cannot insist on being furloughed, no employee can. It is entirely up to the employer whether to use the scheme (if eligible), they do not have to.

In fact, in allowing unpaid leave they are actually doing more that they are legally obliged to. If her work cannot be done from home they could insist on her going to work. The isolation issue, however wise it may be, is only advice. In is not mandatory.

Welshcakez

Her work cannot be done from home she has already asked if she can do anything at home.

They are paying employees full salary who are ill themselves and have been told to isolate but not her even though they are following the same guidelines set out by the government regarding shielding. 

She works in a branch so has nothing to do with increased workload of sorting mortgage deferrals. 

Undervalued

Welshcakez said:

Her work cannot be done from home she has already asked if she can do anything at home.

They are paying employees full salary who are ill themselves and have been told to isolate but not her even though they are following the same guidelines set out by the government regarding shielding. 

She works in a branch so has nothing to do with increased workload of sorting mortgage deferrals. 

Employees who are ill themselves are entitled to SSP and maybe whatever company sick pay is normally offered. Your wife is not sick, she is choosing to follow "guidelines" for the benefit of a family member - you. The company is not obliged to pay for that. 

You may think it unfair and many people may well agree with you, but it is not unlawful.

poppy12345

There's so many people that have no option to work, even when living with vulnerable people. They stick to strict hygiene rules when returning home, including wearing the same shoes to work each time and removing them before going into the house.

Welshcakez

Undervalued said:

Welshcakez said:

Her work cannot be done from home she has already asked if she can do anything at home.

They are paying employees full salary who are ill themselves and have been told to isolate but not her even though they are following the same guidelines set out by the government regarding shielding. 

She works in a branch so has nothing to do with increased workload of sorting mortgage deferrals. 

Employees who are ill themselves are entitled to SSP and maybe whatever company sick pay is normally offered. Your wife is not sick, she is choosing to follow "guidelines" for the benefit of a family member - you. The company is not obliged to pay for that. 

You may think it unfair and many people may well agree with you, but it is not unlawful.

The company has chosen to pay them their full time salary not sick pay. 

Welshcakez

poppy12345 said:

There's so many people that have no option to work, even when living with vulnerable people. They stick to strict hygiene rules when returning home, including wearing the same shoes to work each time and removing them before going into the house.

The NHS guideline for people that cannot isolate in this situation is to stay at home and they are eligible for furlough. 

poppy12345

Welshcakez said:

poppy12345 said:

There's so many people that have no option to work, even when living with vulnerable people. They stick to strict hygiene rules when returning home, including wearing the same shoes to work each time and removing them before going into the house.

The NHS guideline for people that cannot isolate in this situation is to stay at home and they are eligible for furlough. 

That's not correct sorry. If there's work available and she chooses not to go then she won't be paid.

Welshcakez

It is correct:
From NHS UK:

If you cannot avoid close contact - If it's not possible to avoid close contact with someone who's at very high risk, you could choose to stay at home all the time.

From the Gov website on who can be furloughed:

Shielding Employees

Employees who are unable to work because they are shielding in line with public health guidance (or need to stay home with someone who is shielding) can be furloughed.

I can't post links yet sorry. 

Mrsn

I’m sorry OP but you are clutching at straws. That maybe the guidance out there but the main part of the criteria will be to protect jobs that would otherwise be made redundant and this clearly doesn’t apply to your circumstances. 

Further there is the treasury guidance which completely contradicts the main guidance often quoted on here. Claims are currently being rejected for a variety of reasons now the scheme is open.

The employer has offered unpaid leave, they weren’t even required to do that for your wife. I’m sorry if you feel this is harsh but as someone who is a key worker with x2 auto immune conditions who still is required to work, I don’t feel you are understanding they have done nothing wrong. Your best option is to look into any help financially through universal credit.