Furloughed - Partner in retail - no childcare

diggingdude

silvercar said:

. Plus the inconvenience of having staff not working that they may need. Also the impact on working staff to carry the load and resentment that some staff are getting 80% salary while they are working for only 20% more.

I think this is the issue which will force many employers hands.  Resentment towards furlough seems to be building amongst those not furloughed.  In my role we have all continued working as key workers but notice those with children have not left the home for work in many weeks whilst people like myself are regularly going into offices/people's homes risking infection.  There is a feeling we are carrying the others which doesn't bode well for the workplace environment in the future.

sharpe106

 When it was originally announced the scheme and was about saving jobs I am sure there was no resentment but as time has gone by and the scheme has changed it’s not surprising that lots of staff are feeling resented towards colleagues sat at home on 80% doing nothing whilst they have to work every day.

ljm2105

I have a similar problem, husband is a key worker so has been working full time through out, I’ve been furloughed since 1st April but got a phone call yesterday saying they need me back next week. I have an 8 year old, 4 year old and 18 month old and no childcare until grandparents are allowed to come again, and who knows when that will be! 

Even if the older two go to school it doesn’t help us, my husband doesn’t finish until 4.30 and me 6.30 so who would pick them up, not to mention what do we do with your 18 month old? 

I don’t understand why other employees are being resentful in some cases to those who are furloughed, it’s not like it’s through choice, what do they want parents with young children to do under the current circumstances, take them to work with them?!! 

My husband is having to use annual leave or unpaid parental leave to cover days I work which is ok for the first few weeks but can’t go on for too long so I don’t know what we will do if things don’t change sometime soon. I said I am available weekends but was told they need the cover on weekdays, I said if my husband can’t take any days off that I am required to work I will have to take unpaid leave myself to which my employer said ‘but that wouldn’t really help us when we need the cover’ so I don’t honestly know what they expect me to do! Are employers actually allowed to refuse unpaid parental leave anyway? 

gary83

ljm2105 said:

I don’t understand why other employees are being resentful in some cases to those who are furloughed, it’s not like it’s through choice, what do they want parents with young children to do under the current circumstances, take them to work with them?!! 

I can totally understand why other employees would be resentful. You think you should be allowed to stay at home with your own kids on 80% of your salary whilst there’s work for you to do and presumably all employees without kids should go in and do their work as well as pick up the slack left by the employees that have kids and “only” get paid an extra 20%. I think that kind of positive discrimination would annoy a lot of people that didn’t benefit from it.

bradders1983

In a job I had when I was in my early 20s it was kind of expected I would work the period between Xmas and New Year because I had no children.

gettingtheresometime

ljm2105 said:

I don’t understand why other employees are being resentful in some cases to those who are furloughed, it’s not like it’s through choice, what do they want parents with young children to do under the current circumstances, take them to work with them?!! 

Seriously ? You really don't understand why someone would be upset at being told that they had to go into work, potentially using public transport or paying extortionate car parking fees, when Joanna Bloggs was able to be at home & getting 80% of her pay ?

The only way this could be evened up is if those people who had to go into work had first dibs on Christmas and Summer holidays.

bradders1983

Seems fair, make everyone with kids work over Xmas.

Thrugelmir

Matt_73 said:

My Partner works 8hrs in retail for Matalan, 

Could she not work her 8 hours on the days that you are not working. Flexibility is going to be required. 

Grumpy_chap

gettingtheresometime said:

ljm2105 said:

I don’t understand why other employees are being resentful in some cases to those who are furloughed, it’s not like it’s through choice, what do they want parents with young children to do under the current circumstances, take them to work with them?!! 

Seriously ? You really don't understand why someone would be upset at being told that they had to go into work, potentially using public transport or paying extortionate car parking fees, when Joanna Bloggs was able to be at home & getting 80% of her pay ?

The only way this could be evened up is if those people who had to go into work had first dibs on Christmas and Summer holidays.

I think the way this will be evened up in many places is those that were keen to work and managed their own affairs so they could work will be the most secure when the eventual round of redundancies come.  Those that found every reason and first call to be at home on 80% because of their 'special circumstances' and every reason not to go back to work will be the first to receive their P45.  This is not a comment to those on furlough and pushing to return, but those objecting to return (which there seem to be many such threads in this forum).

ljm2105

Yes seriously! It’s not through choice we are having to be off ! Next you’re going say well it is because we chose to have children so it’s our problem, but we didn’t choose for there to be a global pandemic did we! Obviously they have to choose those without dependants to continue working if there is only work for so many because THERE IS NO OPTION FOR CHILDCARE AT THE MINUTE!!  What exactly do you expect those of us with young children to do for childcare so we can go into work?? Family can’t come round to look after them, schools and nursery’s are closed so shall I just leave them home alone to fend for themselves, or maybe I should take them to work with me?? 

And just for the record I have worked Christmas and Boxing Day in the past even though I have children so I’m not one who expects everything to work around me because I’m a parent.