Shielding & Furlough as a Part-Time Worker

CrazeUK1

Hello,
A relative of mine has been instructed to continue to shield. However, her employer has said that she would no longer be able to furlough her from 1st July as she is a part-time worker.

I would appreciate it if someone would be able to clarify government guidance on this, please?
I have seen that shielding workers are still able to be furloughed. But, it is not clear this includes part-time staff.

Apologies if this has been asked before.

[Deleted User]

All staff can continue to be furloughed in July, full time or part time.

The issue the employer may well have is that furlough costs in July (as it has from the start) in accrued holiday, from 1st August it will also start to rise in cost as companies have to start contributing on top. What they may be hoping is that if they do not furlough part time staff in July then many will leave, so saving them some money, without the cost of redundancies. 

sharpe106

They can furlough them still if they wish. Is she eligible for SSP or does she not earn enough?

CrazeUK1

sharpe106 said:

They can furlough them still if they wish. Is she eligible for SSP or does she not earn enough?

She would be eligible for SSP but SSP isn't enough to cover her outgoings.

MadMattUK said:

All staff can continue to be furloughed in July, full time or part time.

The issue the employer may well have is that furlough costs in July (as it has from the start) in accrued holiday, from 1st August it will also start to rise in cost as companies have to start contributing on top. What they may be hoping is that if they do not furlough part time staff in July then many will leave, so saving them some money, without the cost of redundancies. 

Thanks for this. Her employer has even said she may need to think about whether this job is right for her as if there is another peak, she could be off again. She told them they would need to fire her to make her leave.

So to take away - She is eligible to be furloughed. However, it is at their discretion.
They seem to be either misunderstanding the advice of the government, or they're trying to be difficult to force people out.

sharpe106

Sounds like she will have to claim SSP then, furlough will start costing the companies soon, so it may be cheaper for them to pay SSP. It is only for a month then she can go back to work normally anyway. 

calcotti

sharpe106 said:

Sounds like she will have to claim SSP then, furlough will start costing the companies soon, so it may be cheaper for them to pay SSP. It is only for a month then she can go back to work normally anyway. 

Which will be possible until July 31st. Beyond that people who are in the extremely vulnerable category are advised they can return to a workplace if it is COVID safe, but if it isn't and they can't no help is available to them other than UC.

Galloglass

I've been told by an employer that the decision sequence is as follows:

1. Does the job need to be done? If so continuing to furlough puts the company at risk of having the furlough grant clawed back as it would be against the scheme.
2. Can the role be done from home, if need be. If not, employee is invited back
3. If the employee has a shielding letter, this can be treated as a "fit note" and SSP applied.
4. If employee is not shielding [themselves] then unpaid leave or dismissal. No redundancy as the job still exists. [This is likely to affect those with children who can't access child care.]

This is just one [large] employer but part of an industry wide approach to starting up again. Applies to all staff full time or part time. The decision is based on the job and not the furlough scheme.

sharpe106

That is the sort of thing the government should have put out when they were doing the scheme. Would have made it far easier and companies would not have had to waste time and effort trying to figure it out.