Need to quarantine , employer enforcing holidays!

Andy_L

MadMattUK said:

To be fair to your employer you are lucky that they have furloughed you, a requirement of furlough is that you "keep yourself available for work", which is something you have not been doing if you have been in Greece all this time, they could have quite easily placed you on unpaid leave, certainly not topped you up and probably even have fired you as you would have been able to get back from Greece long before now. 

Do you have a link for that? 

epm-84

MadMattUK said:

epm-84 said:
When Martin Lewis took a question from someone who was stuck in Spain he said his understanding was that person could be furloughed.

Martin has also been very clear, as indeed is the legislation and guidance that there is a huge difference between "could", "eligible" and "will be". 

The reality is that a lot of companies are looking to shed staff, many will be looking to do so with the least productive and least "compliant" members of their teams. If someone is being particularly combative or difficult then they put themselves at the top of that list.

When he says 'could' he means from his understanding that the government allows it but it's up to the employer to choose whether or not to do it.  Note his understanding includes discussions with people from The Treasury as well as his interpretation of the official guidance, so he's going off more information than what any of us have available to them (presuming you're not a financial journalist, a Treasury employee or government minister.) 

You don't know how Tedburgundy compares to their colleagues.  Maybe Tedburgundy has been employed for 10 years and has only had 3 sick days in that time, is always on time for work and is willing to stay late to get the job done properly, while possibly others are less reliable and less hardworking.  If so a one-off issue relating to COVID-19 won't put them at the front of the queue for redundancies.

superbigal

Andy_L said:

MadMattUK said:

To be fair to your employer you are lucky that they have furloughed you, a requirement of furlough is that you "keep yourself available for work", which is something you have not been doing if you have been in Greece all this time, they could have quite easily placed you on unpaid leave, certainly not topped you up and probably even have fired you as you would have been able to get back from Greece long before now. 

Do you have a link for that? 

To be fair anyone who has completed a 3 week Furlough can be recalled to work with a days notice.
I suspect that is what the poster means.

suki1964

To be fair OP, you are coming across as being very entitled 

See it from others perspective

You have been paid full time to be sat in Greece, a country that has been relatively free from Covid since March. 13 weeks paid holiday and still accruing holiday whilst doing so,  and now you are questioning the fairness of being told to use that holiday to pay for your quarantine fortnight


Now there's many of us who have also been furloughed, in a country that Covid has run rife. Most of us on only 80%. We have had to stay home, indoors, strict lockdown rules until the past 3 weeks, for some that means stuck in tiny flats/bedsits with no access to the outside other than their hours exercise. For some its meant trying to occupy children, shield vulnerable family members , live with family members out there front line on Covid wards, the stresses of living with all that daily for the past 13 weeks has taken its toll on many a person. And for many, they are now having to come to terms that come the end of this month, if they are still going to be lucky enough to be furloughed still their income will no doubt drop again, or they are going to be let go. Ive only been on furlough three weeks and already my stress levels are rising because the more I see of how the opening of the hospitality trade is going to be, the more I see my job is not going to be around

So can you see how your post and perspective may just be grating?

Tedburgundy

suki1964 said:

To be fair OP, you are coming across as being very entitled 

See it from others perspective

You have been paid full time to be sat in Greece, a country that has been relatively free from Covid since March. 13 weeks paid holiday and still accruing holiday whilst doing so,  and now you are questioning the fairness of being told to use that holiday to pay for your quarantine fortnight


Now there's many of us who have also been furloughed, in a country that Covid has run rife. Most of us on only 80%. We have had to stay home, indoors, strict lockdown rules until the past 3 weeks, for some that means stuck in tiny flats/bedsits with no access to the outside other than their hours exercise. For some its meant trying to occupy children, shield vulnerable family members , live with family members out there front line on Covid wards, the stresses of living with all that daily for the past 13 weeks has taken its toll on many a person. And for many, they are now having to come to terms that come the end of this month, if they are still going to be lucky enough to be furloughed still their income will no doubt drop again, or they are going to be let go. Ive only been on furlough three weeks and already my stress levels are rising because the more I see of how the opening of the hospitality trade is going to be, the more I see my job is not going to be around

So can you see how your post and perspective may just be grating?

In no way did I create this post to start a war of words with random people.  I understand the problems faced by many. Just because I have been in Greece doesn’t mean I have had a 3 month holiday lying on a beach, quite the contrary.  I’m not going into details of the problems that I have faced so why should some posters feel the need to judge? I simply was after some advice on why they would make me use my holidays while still on the furlough scheme.

jackieblack

Tedburgundy said:

I simply was after some advice on why they would make me use my holidays while still on the furlough scheme.

Because you’re not available to attend work, should they require you to

Thrugelmir

Tedburgundy said:

suki1964 said:

To be fair OP, you are coming across as being very entitled 

See it from others perspective

You have been paid full time to be sat in Greece, a country that has been relatively free from Covid since March. 13 weeks paid holiday and still accruing holiday whilst doing so,  and now you are questioning the fairness of being told to use that holiday to pay for your quarantine fortnight


Now there's many of us who have also been furloughed, in a country that Covid has run rife. Most of us on only 80%. We have had to stay home, indoors, strict lockdown rules until the past 3 weeks, for some that means stuck in tiny flats/bedsits with no access to the outside other than their hours exercise. For some its meant trying to occupy children, shield vulnerable family members , live with family members out there front line on Covid wards, the stresses of living with all that daily for the past 13 weeks has taken its toll on many a person. And for many, they are now having to come to terms that come the end of this month, if they are still going to be lucky enough to be furloughed still their income will no doubt drop again, or they are going to be let go. Ive only been on furlough three weeks and already my stress levels are rising because the more I see of how the opening of the hospitality trade is going to be, the more I see my job is not going to be around

So can you see how your post and perspective may just be grating?

 I simply was after some advice on why they would make me use my holidays while still on the furlough scheme.

Cost saving, increased productivity, in preparation for making head count cuts. Rather than a tsunami , furlough has merely softened the hit to the wider economy. 

Jonesy1977

Tedburgundy said:

In no way did I create this post to start a war of words with random people.  I understand the problems faced by many. Just because I have been in Greece doesn’t mean I have had a 3 month holiday lying on a beach, quite the contrary.  I’m not going into details of the problems that I have faced so why should some posters feel the need to judge? I simply was after some advice on why they would make me use my holidays while still on the furlough scheme.

I don't think anyone here is looking to start a war of words,  your question was asked and answered to be fair.  You did however use some phrases which show that you have not necessarily thought this through, for example "why would they make me"  and this shows that you have little empathy for your employer (who has been very fair) or your colleagues (who are now back at work and covering your share of the workload)  You are quite right this is not your fault and I am for one sorry if you have suffered but  it is also not your employers fault or your colleagues fault (all of who will have suffered one way or another) but to be outraged that you are being told to use paid holiday because of a business impact due to a decision that you made all be it in good faith (to go to Greece in March) may be perceived as a little shortsighted in the current economic climate. 

poppy12345

Sounds like yet another newbie that hasn't received the answers they would have liked...

yksi

With all kindness - nobody actually cares that it wasn't your fault or that you have a baby. In business, your holiday and your children are not the manager's problem. So while you keep whining that it isn't fair and that it isn't your fault and why should you have to use more holidays quarantining which is also not your fault and you can't help it, you are wasting your breath. Say a quiet thank-you that you have been treated so well by your company who were under absolutely no obligation to pander to your holiday and kids situation yet kindly did so anyway and not only furloughed you despite your inability to be ready to work immediately, they topped your wage up!!!

You're under the mistaken impression that life is meant to be fair. The entire situation is and was not your fault; but it is still your responsibility. The world is full of people just like you, stuck in situations that feel unfair. I can't get a mortgage, because my contract is temporary. So, high five and welcome to the club.

Let's get back to basics. Think about it from the manager's perspective. He has an employee not working (who will need to be replaced by paying someone else). Imagine it was 2019 with no pandemic. Would he hand out free money to you for doing nothing for him? Would that really be standard practice? No. It would not. Just because there's a pandemic doesn't mean normal working norms have been completely thrown out the window. The basic premise is: you show up if you expect to get paid. If you can't show up, don't expect to get paid. If the manager has someone who's at home, it's in his interests that they use their holiday entitlement, as is his right to insist. If you want to dig your heels in, maybe he'll switch you to unpaid leave instead. Or if he is feeling less kind, he can just take you off furlough then go down the road to dismissal. Your call.