Boss claiming furlough employee did not know

ago8591

Hello all ,
I have come to this forum for advise and to let of a little steam it has in the past few days come to my attention that my employer has claimed furlough for the past two months and the employees involved did not know anything about it this is the scenario:
My employer came through late afternoon this week and told us he had been claiming furlough for the past two months the reason he told us was  because of the Census it seems one of the questions has a furlough reference which he took to mean we have to declare employed or furlough consequently he came through and came to persuade us to  fill the form as "On Furlough" this came as a shock to me as I have worked throughout the Pandemic as normal.
Employer obviously knows the possible outcome and is trying to avoid prosecution.
Since March 2020 I have worked and had to increase my work rate as some members of staff worked from home which put extra pressure on the staff left working we had a possible Covid incident which was dismissed by the employer as a "chest infection" and PPE was never properly in place.
These are a few of a litany of things since the lockdowns began but my issue now is my trust of my employer is at at all time low and I have not been in work since Wednesday as I feel like I should resign but as usual I need the money.
I work in a situation where I have to Road test motorcycles and I feel that I am not insured as the rules say " furloughed members of staff must not work " so it may void the employers insurance but I cannot get confirmation of this.
I have asked if I am on furlough this month(march) he said no but I don't believe him .
Would this constitute a constructive dismal ?
I am considering reporting him to HMRC  and taking whatever comes of it.
Thanks for reading.

ago8591

ago8591 said:

Hello all ,
I have come to this forum for advise and to let of a little steam it has in the past few days come to my attention that my employer has claimed furlough for the past two months and the employees involved did not know anything about it this is the scenario:
My employer came through late afternoon this week and told us he had been claiming furlough for the past two months the reason he told us was  because of the Census it seems one of the questions has a furlough reference which he took to mean we have to declare employed or furlough consequently he came through and came to persuade us to  fill the form as "On Furlough" this came as a shock to me as I have worked throughout the Pandemic as normal.
Employer obviously knows the possible outcome and is trying to avoid prosecution.
Since March 2020 I have worked and had to increase my work rate as some members of staff worked from home which put extra pressure on the staff left working we had a possible Covid incident which was dismissed by the employer as a "chest infection" and PPE was never properly in place.
These are a few of a litany of things since the lockdowns began but my issue now is my trust of my employer is at at all time low and I have not been in work since Wednesday as I feel like I should resign but as usual I need the money.
I work in a situation where I have to Road test motorcycles and I feel that I am not insured as the rules say " furloughed members of staff must not work " so it may void the employers insurance but I cannot get confirmation of this.
I have asked if I am on furlough this month(march) he said no but I don't believe him .
Would this constitute a constructive dismal ?
I am considering reporting him to HMRC  and taking whatever comes of it.
Thanks for reading.

Sorry it should say "constructive dismissal" apologies

cattie

Definitely not constructive dismissal. If you resign you'd be in the position of making yourself intentionally out of work, so could have any benefits you might qualify for whilst out of work, suspended for a period.

Whether employer is doing right or wrong, ask yourself would you want to be out of work at a time when so many are losing their jobs & employment opportunites dwindling with so many businesses having to close down due to loss of profit or bankcruptcy. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.

Smashingitnow

I think the advice above is one opinion. How courts will react to employees who don't go to work when their boss claimed furlough for a year is unknown. It is reasonable to suppose that they will support the employee. I wouldn't quit. Neither would I go to work. Your boss furloughed you. Demand the cash and stay home til you get it.

Dottydoolay

I don’t see how it’s constructive dismissal it is however fraud. Report to HRMC and let them deal with it.
Im assuming you have been fully paid for the work you have been doing, haven’t signed a furlough agreement nor actually received furlough pay which would have been only 80%.
In that case you were not actually knowingly furloughed so can’t see it would impact insurances etc.
Like I say report potential fraud and leave HRMC to it you leave your job I feel you will end up with nothing, and not entitled to benefits so no income at all.

MattMattMattUK

Dottydoolay said:

Im assuming you have been fully paid for the work you have been doing, haven’t signed a furlough agreement nor actually received furlough pay which would have been only 80%.

Someone's pay does not need to be reduced on furlough, many employers are paying 100% of salary whilst employees are on furlough.

Dottydoolay

Some are yes sorry I forgot about that, there is still no agreement in place though and obviously it will depend on industry/area but I know of not one company in my circle who are doing this as can’t afford to.
I guess in this instance the OP could also be on flexible furlough without actually knowing about it.
None of the info indicates a good case for constructive dismissal I wouldn’t have thought.

HampshireH

Should your payslip not differentiate between furlough and top up wage? Like it would for holiday or sickness

ago8591

Thanks for all your comments I will take it all on board 

A_Lert

Well your employer has put his foot in it telling you all. He either didn't know or didn't believe that individual census responses are secret.

Regarding the bikes and insurance, consider getting advice from a motoring lawyer, since a conviction for no insurance would fall on you personally. In my layperson opinion you were not furloughed, your employer was just defrauding HMRC and you aren't part of that, but the recent information may change the standpoint in future.

Marvel1

Nice employer, not only claims fraud but also advising employees to lie on the census form.