Vulnerable shielding/furlough question

only_me_123

Hi there,

I currently work part time for a DIY store. I was furloughed last time due to being vulnerable. 

Having watched the speech last night, I’m 
a bit confused as Boris said if you are vulnerable and can’t work from home you shouldn’t go to work. Did I hear this correctly?

So being vulnerable does that mean I shouldn’t be going to work?

If so or so not, can I go about asking to be furloughed or is it up to the company to make this decision? Just wonders if I’m allowed to actually ask to be furloughed!

Any advice would be great, thanks. 

Sorry if this has been asked already!

bradders1983

You can ask, but you may not get.

Jeremy535897

The guidance is here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november

Basically, stay at home if you can work from home. Garden centres can stay open, but that may not extend to DIY stores. The Prime Minister said work from home if possible. See https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-statement-on-coronavirus-covid-19-31-october-2020

bradders1983

DIY stores were allowed to open last time, although some like B&Q shut for a few weeks to get their heads around things. Cant imagine it being any different this time round.

[Deleted User]

Guidance doesn’t even specifically say your entitled to Furlough, it mentions SSP & ESA:
 

“There is a further group of people who are defined, also on medical grounds, as clinically extremely vulnerableto coronavirus – that is, people with specific serious health conditions. Over this period, we are advising the CEV to work from home. If you cannot work from home, you are advised not to go to work and may be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or Employment Support Allowance (ESA).”

Becles

MarkN88 said:

Guidance doesn’t even specifically say your entitled to Furlough, it mentions SSP & ESA:
 

“There is a further group of people who are defined, also on medical grounds, as clinically extremely vulnerableto coronavirus – that is, people with specific serious health conditions. Over this period, we are advising the CEV to work from home. If you cannot work from home, you are advised not to go to work and may be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or Employment Support Allowance (ESA).”

It was on the furlough guidance last time:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-which-employees-you-can-put-on-furlough-to-use-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

If your employee’s health has been affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) or any other conditions

If your employee is:

• unable to work because they are shielding in line with public health guidance (or need to stay at home with someone who is shielding)
• unable to work because they have caring responsibilities resulting from coronavirus (COVID-19), including employees that need to look after children

They can be furloughed as long as you previously placed the employee on furlough before 30 June and submitted a claim for them by 31 July.

Employers can furlough employees who are shielding or off on long-term sick leave. It is up to employers to decide whether to furlough these employees.

It's written so shielding people are entitled to 80% of their salary so they can follow the shielding advice, but then gives employers the option to opt out. My employer chose to opt out last time so I ended up losing 65% of my household income.

This time they're saying stop off work but you're only entitled to SSP/ESA if you do.

bradders1983

Nobody is "entitled", that is the incorrect wording. Only your employer can decide if you are "entitled" or not.

MoneySeeker1

Quite - unless told otherwise in writing by employer - then turn up as normal. Otherwise you've just "asked" for lower income and/or put yourself first in line for any redundancies going. Proceeding as normal (unless instructed by employer) will give you as much protection as it's possible to get for your income.

A friend of mine recently told me that her employer had to make 3 employees redundant because of Lockdown and she expected she'd be one of them (as she's only months away from retiring anyway). Three employees were duly made redundant - but it did not include her, as she kept turning up for work as normal. Those 3 employees were ones who didn't go in as normal (though one of them it's true was notorious for unhelpful attitude anyway even in Normal Times). Having had her describe those 3 employees to me I confirmed they would have been exactly the ones I would have chosen and she certainly wouldnt have been let go - as she always goes in whenever required.

68ComebackSpecial

MoneySeeker1 said:

Quite - unless told otherwise in writing by employer - then turn up as normal. Otherwise you've just "asked" for lower income and/or put yourself first in line for any redundancies going. Proceeding as normal (unless instructed by employer) will give you as much protection as it's possible to get for your income.

A friend of mine recently told me that her employer had to make 3 employees redundant because of Lockdown and she expected she'd be one of them (as she's only months away from retiring anyway). Three employees were duly made redundant - but it did not include her, as she kept turning up for work as normal. Those 3 employees were ones who didn't go in as normal (though one of them it's true was notorious for unhelpful attitude anyway even in Normal Times). Having had her describe those 3 employees to me I confirmed they would have been exactly the ones I would have chosen and she certainly wouldnt have been let go - as she always goes in whenever required.

More likely that the employer needed to make three redundancies in addition to your friend's impending retirement as it would be pretty foolish to retain her otherwise. 

elsien

As for the shielding in your thread title, no one is being told to shield this time round. 

Dr_Crypto

There is no shielding. 

You can ask your employer to be furloughed but they may not agree especially if they are open and need you at work. If they decline to furlough you you’ve got sick pay or benefits.