Furlough

System

This discussion was created from two separate threads. Some posts may appear out of sequence.

maxgrass

My partner has been on furlough for over two months. The company asked my partner to work for a week and then go back on furlough. Due to other commitments my partner was unable to commit to the weeks work. He has just received a letter to say he is now no longer on furlough and is on unpaid leave, can they do this even though other workers have not worked when they have been asked and are still on furlough. Any help would be much appreciated thanks

Diamandis

Furlough isnt holiday. Your partner should have been prepared to attend work. It seems reasonable that your partner gets put on unpaid leave if they're not willing to work.

Thrugelmir

maxgrass said:

Due to other commitments my partner was unable to commit to the weeks work. 

Why didn't he book annual leave?  

Grumpy_chap

maxgrass said:

My partner has been on furlough for over two months. The company asked my partner to work for a week and then go back on furlough. Due to other commitments my partner was unable to commit to the weeks work. He has just received a letter to say he is now no longer on furlough and is on unpaid leave, can they do this even though other workers have not worked when they have been asked and are still on furlough. Any help would be much appreciated thanks

Why was your partner not available for work?  What were the "other commitments"?
Did your partner only start on furlough in May / June this year? - that's quite late.

Furlough is a job retention scheme and the employee should remain available for work.  The reasons for not being available are the same as for normal work: annual leave, sickness, maternity, etc.

There may be some cases where an employer has agreed to the employee volunteering during normal work times (e.g. at a vaccination centre).

Outside of the above types of cases, I'd say that an employer agreeing to unpaid leave for being unavailable for work us being supportive and lenient.

mattyprice4004

Furlough isn’t a holiday, he should have been available to work. 

If he wanted to be away from work he should have booked it off as annual leave. 

They’ve brought this upon themselves; imagine being the employer where you’ve retained their job and asked them to return only to be given 2 fingers! 

superbigal

To be honest I would have the employee as AWOL and facing disciplinary action.

Bradden

I think his employer is being a bit mean... it's not like it costs them anything to keep them on furlouigh.

poppy12345

Bradden said:

I think his employer is being a bit mean... it's not like it costs them anything to keep them on furlouigh.

Of course it does. What makes you think it doesn't? Being on furlough isn't a holiday.

Pennywise

Bradden said:

I think his employer is being a bit mean... it's not like it costs them anything to keep them on furlouigh.

Of course it does.  Some employers paid full pay despite only reclaiming 80%.  Employer still has to pay employers NIC, employers pension contributions, holiday pay, employers liability insurance, perhaps benefits in kind, etc.  Last Autumn, there was a couple of months where HMRC didn't refund the full furlough, and of course, full furlough can't be claimed again for July onwards, i.e. employer must pay 80% but can only reclaim 70% (and less in future months).  Not to mention admin time/costs of making the furlough claims.

sheramber

Bradden said:

I think his employer is being a bit mean... it's not like it costs them anything to keep them on furlouigh.

the employer has to pay NI contributions and pension payments.