Furlough or redunancy

Ellemayv700

Hi my type 1 diabetic daughter is furloughed at the minute as she is a hairdresser.  Her employer won't be able to provide safe distances to work at when they reopen.  Her employer has offered her redundancy, can she not stay on furlough until the rules are relaxed a little further instead of losing her job? 

Andy_L

AIUI Diabetes is not on the list of shielding illnesses.
Furlough is at the discretion of the employer. Since there is work for her why would they want to take on the costs of furloughing an employee?

Mrsn

The problem is the changes to the furlough scheme are happening soon and the employer will have to pay more to keep her on furlough. This is totally their decision to make though I do appreciate the frustration and upset for your daughter.

Jeremy535897

It is entirely up to her employer as to whether your daughter continues on furlough. Type 1 diabetes puts her in the "clinically vulnerable" category, so she is presumably not required to shield, unless there are other health issues. Type 1 diabetes is also a "disability" for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010. Your daughter's rights in respect of redundancy will depend on whether she has worked for her employer for at least two years. There is a useful guide here:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/leaving-a-job/redundancy/check-if-your-redundancy-is-fair/

sharpe106

Surely this falls more under medical capacity then redundancy as the job is still there. Just the current holder can't do it anymore or won’t.

Ellemayv700

sharpe106 said:

Surely this falls more under medical capacity then redundancy as the job is still there. Just the current holder can't do it anymore or won’t.

We aren't sure and can't get a proper answer 

sharpe106

Did your daughter get a shielding letter? If so she could claim SSP, if not then it is her choice not to attend work. As others have said furloughing is optional and it is unlikely her employer will want to carry on furloughing her as it will start costing more soon and she may need your daughter to work.  She could always offer to take unpaid leave, use holidays in the meantime.

Grumpy_chap

According to diabetes.org.uk:
People with diabetes are not in the clinically extremely vulnerable group (shielding group). People with diabetes are in the 'clinically vulnerable group'. This means you should still stay at home as much as possible and if you do go out, be really careful to avoid contact with people you don't live with.

Regarding:

Ellemayv700 said:

Her employer has offered her redundancy, can she not stay on furlough until the rules are relaxed a little further instead of losing her job? 

Others have explained the discretionary nature of furlough, but how and when does your daughter think the rules will be changed to allow her to return to work? 

One way or another, coronavirus is here to stay and will not magically disappear or vaccine just appear.  It does not sound like this is a genuine redundancy situation, but maybe that is the best the employer can offer if your daughter states she is unable to return to work and can't put a sensible solution forward.  The other options would be for your daughter to resign or the employer to dismiss her.

The best thing would be for your daughter to work with the employer to come up with a way that your daughter is happy to go to work and the employer is comfortable with her being there.  You have time to discuss a solution as hairdressers will not be opening before July at the earliest.