Are U1of 3million+ #ExcludedUK Getting NO Govt Support? Join us!

Grumpy_chap

@Becles does seem to have a good case for the furlough being awarded but it is down to the employer.  It seems wrong in this case.  

Has any sick pay / SSP been possible?  I know the period would normally be longer than covered, but I think there was an adjustment to the rules somewhere on this - maybe someone else on the forum will know.

Is it possible to use annual leave to cover income for part of the shielding period?  It will mean no holiday later in the year, but it is not clear that anyone can go anywhere for a holiday this year in any case.

At least you will have a job to return to shortly.

Unfortunately, for @Becles - although there seems to be a strong case here for betterment in support, this scenario is not really covered by #Excluded as they are really only serving the interests of own Ltd Co. Directors and self-employed who failed to prepare for a rainy day.  Using @gary83 's logic, I would be #Excluded, but I also cannot support the foolhardy campaign.

Jeremy535897

gary83 said:

Becles said:

I joined because I've been denied furlough. I have a shielding letter but my employer said I was "choosing not to work" and refused furlough.

I do get some benefits but as a single parent with a mortgage, going from a full time salary to benefits only was a huge drop in household income. 

I don't have much left in savings. In the last couple of years, I've had two major abdominal surgeries that required an extended stay off work on benefits only so I had to live on savings then. This is my third "rainy day" in a short space of time.

I asked both Citizens Advice and ACAS for help to make sure there was nothing else I could claim, and both said I was entitled to furlough but if the employer won't claim it, there's nothing I can do.

I still think it's wrong that the Government never put anything in place to protect the wages of clinically vulnerable employees and allow them to have 80% coming in as others were given.

Unfortunately that’s just about right, except perhaps on semantics in that you could be eligible to be furloughed, nobody was entitled to it.

i think this excluded campaign is doing more harm than good for people like the new starters etc. as they’d have more of a chance to campaign by themselves (& to be fair seemed well orchestrated on social media, even if they haven’t seen the result they wanted)

you only have to look at the farcical info graphic produced by excluded U.K. a few pages back to see that by trying to be all things to all people as well as an ability to bend the truth/make outright false statements along with ridiculous claims like people are excluded if they have no staff, as they can’t access the CJRS. bearing in mind the money is claimed on behalf of the employee and handed directly to them. Using that logic, surely I’m one of the excluded? if I had a gardener or a butler I could have claimed taxpayers money and given it directly to them? I think it’s a poorly thought out campaign with toomany glaring errors in their publicity & is doomed to fail.

Don't forget the £350 million on the side of the bus that probably tipped the balance in favour of us leaving the EU. It didn't matter that it was a complete misrepresentation of the true position. Nowadays campaigns are won on who lies best.

Grumpy_chap

Yeah, but that £350 million has now gone to NHS to pay for the nightingale hospitals and other Covid treatments.  Good job we left, or we really would be up a creek without a paddle. 😉

Jonesy1977

Grumpy_chap said:

@Becles does seem to have a good case for the furlough being awarded but it is down to the employer.  It seems wrong in this case.  

Has any sick pay / SSP been possible?  I know the period would normally be longer than covered, but I think there was an adjustment to the rules somewhere on this - maybe someone else on the forum will know.

Is it possible to use annual leave to cover income for part of the shielding period?  It will mean no holiday later in the year, but it is not clear that anyone can go anywhere for a holiday this year in any case.

At least you will have a job to return to shortly.

Unfortunately, for @Becles - although there seems to be a strong case here for betterment in support, this scenario is not really covered by #Excluded as they are really only serving the interests of own Ltd Co. Directors and self-employed who failed to prepare for a rainy day.  Using @gary83 's logic, I would be #Excluded, but I also cannot support the foolhardy campaign.

There was an extension of SSP on the 16th April "Government guidance states that employers can claim for furloughed employees who are shielding in line with public health guidance (or need to stay home with someone who is shielding) if they are unable to work from home. As set out above, this category of employees are also entitled to SSP"

Becles

Grumpy_chap said:

@Becles does seem to have a good case for the furlough being awarded but it is down to the employer.  It seems wrong in this case.  

Has any sick pay / SSP been possible?  I know the period would normally be longer than covered, but I think there was an adjustment to the rules somewhere on this - maybe someone else on the forum will know.

Is it possible to use annual leave to cover income for part of the shielding period?  It will mean no holiday later in the year, but it is not clear that anyone can go anywhere for a holiday this year in any case.

It's been a complete mess to be honest.

In March Government said furlough was not payable to shielding employees and SSP was not payable either. I was advised to claim ESA which I did.

I think the Government thought shielding people were all old or disabled people who didn't work as they seemed surprised at the complaints about being missed off support. It was amended in April by the Government who said that the employer could choose to furlough shielding employees or pay them SSP. I asked my employer again and was refused furlough and also told I could not claim SSP as I was already claiming ESA.

I then collected evidence showing that ACAS, Citizens Advice, my MP, the Treasury, Martin Lewis and other articles all confirmed that I could be placed on furlough. Again I was refused and told I should go back to work. 

I have been sent some PPE. Work seem to think I'll be fine working in supermarkets on the shop floor in close contact with customers wearing a disposable mask. I don't feel comfortable doing this as my shielding letter says I should stay at home and not mix with people. So we're back to I'm choosing not to work, so I'm not entitled to anything from them.

Our holiday runs 1st March to 28th Feb. I've only worked two weeks in this holiday year and been on unpaid leave since, so I haven't accrued any holiday yet.

Grumpy_chap

When do you expect to stop shielding and what do you expect to be different then to facilitate your return to work?

Becles

Grumpy_chap said:

When do you expect to stop shielding and what do you expect to be different then to facilitate your return to work?

When the Government/NHS say it's safe for me to go back to work. There will be less infection in circulation among the general public then and therefore less chance of me picking it up at work. 

I still think it's grossly unfair that no provision was made to provide a 80% wage for shielding people like most others who have been off work since March though.

Grumpy_chap

Is there any indication of time scale for that?

Becles

Grumpy_chap said:

Is there any indication of time scale for that?

It was shielding until 30th June with an update from the Government on the 15th June. On the 15th it was changed to being announced "very soon" then they said it was changed to "early next week" but on Friday it was changed to "in the coming weeks", so I don't know. I am really frustrated by this.

Grumpy_chap

Well, that is very unhelpful...