Another furlough question sorry ...

maverick1000_1

Hiya everyone hopefully someone could shed a bit of light .... Right, my employer  furloughed the whole workshop around March 22nd,  my wife is a key worker so she carried on at work ... I got the call to call to go back to work on the 12th May  then  10 days later I contracted covid 19 ... Well due to the government guide lines I should self isolate for 7 days and the wife for 14, anyway  I was not well enough to go back to work after 7 days so my employer  told me to take 14 days off and dont come back until I retest again and give a negative result ...Went for a re test on Sunday June 7th and the next day I gave another positive result,... Im now off work again for 7 days and the wife has been told she has to stay off for another 14 days .. The question is, my Wife will be off for 4 weeks  (that's if I don't give another positive test next week  )  in total and her employee said she will only get sick pay and not furlough, is this correct ?? 

Cheers in advance Clive 

sharpe106

Yes they have the option to furlough them but they don't have to. If they don't want to furlough them then SSP is what your partner is eligible for.

[Deleted User]

Yes, that is correct. There is no right to furlough, it is entirely at the employers discretion. Additionally if there is work for her to do but she can not work for health reasons she can take holiday, or SSP.

Jeremy535897

Guidance says:
"If you’re on sick leave or self-isolating because of coronavirus (COVID-19), speak to your employer about whether you’re eligible to be furloughed – you should get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) as a minimum while you are on sick leave or self isolating. Your employer can furlough you at any time- if they do, you will no longer receive sick pay, but should be treated as any other furloughed employee."

As she is a key worker, it may be that her employer is not furloughing anyone, or if her employer is a public sector organisation, they may not be able to furlough her.