Furlough Help Please

emgo21

My work closed on the 23rd March  and reopened 3 weeks later. The owner did not inform me the shop was open, nor did he ask me to work, I found out through the businesses facebook post. 2 weeks later he asked if I wanted to return or stay off until all of this is over. I chose to stay off as I was uncomfortable with how they're operating, but that's a different problem. Now I've been told I will only be getting 3 weeks of furlough pay, even though I wasn't asked back to work or told furlough would be stopping until 5 weeks after it started. Is this right because it doesn't seem fair to me? Thanks for any help 

poppy12345

If work is available, then you won't be furloughed. You can't expect to get paid to stay home, if there's work.

emgo21

poppy12345 said:

If work is available, then you won't be furloughed. You can't expect to get paid to stay home, if there's work.

He's hired new staff, continued to tell us we're on furlough and then not asked us to work until 2 weeks after opening. So it's not available, I'd of worked given the chance, but I can't really turn up expecting a shift. I'm not expecting to be paid after I've told him I'm not going back. But the 2 weeks where I was assuming I was still on the furlough that I signed for (after the initial 3 weeks) I would of expected to be paid for that.

sharpe106

You chose to stay at home when work was available. Although I would be asking why he did not mention the shop had re-opened. 

emgo21

sharpe106 said:

You chose to stay at home when work was available. Although I would be asking why he did not mention the shop had re-opened. 

I'm happy taking no pay after that because I don't want to work there anymore after how we've been treat as staff and how they're operating with the social distancing they've already been reported to the police so I'm not comfortable. But the 2 weeks where he was open but didn't inform us, hired new staff and we were all under the assumption we were getting paid furlough, I feel like we're owed for that or am I wrong?

sharpe106

A decent employer would have carried on claiming until he told you to go back to work. But sounds like he is not and sounds like he has not claimed or is not going to. You can always ask but by sounds of it pretty unlikely. You contracted to a set number of hours each week?

emgo21

sharpe106 said:

A decent employer would have carried on claiming until he told you to go back to work. But sounds like he is not and sounds like he has not claimed or is not going to. You can always ask but by sounds of it pretty unlikely. You contracted to a set number of hours each week?

I'm contracted to 16 hours a week. I'm handing in my notice next week as I've found another job. I've got a message stating the furlough ceases and that was sent 5 weeks after yet he's still insisting he only has to pay 3 weeks as the business was operating yet he hadn't informed us or offered shifts. 

Grumpy_chap

Put as you have, this sounds unfair and there may be routes to explore such as constructive dismissal.
Then again, you have a new job to go to and it may well be that the best thing for your own sanity is to chalk this up to experience, be glad to have left behind a bad employer and look forwards to the future.  Dwelling heavily on the past can be too negative and self-destructive.

Confusedfurlough

Ring acas they have been really helpful with me. There are things you can and can't do as an employer

Confusedfurlough

Did you sign a furlough agreement? 

sharpe106

It does sound unfair but probably easier just to move on as even going down constructive dismissal route will take awhile. He sounds unpleasant so will drag it out, so sometimes best to cut your loses, as you said you have a new job.