Furlough.

Could those self isolating work from home?

 

No, they’re heavy plant operators not office staff so can’t do work from home.

 

My understanding is that your firm are doing more than most then.
I'm presuming that if furlough is less than they were getting, then the firm was doing over and above.
Staff at home were only entitled to SSP, so 80% of their wages is a very good deal.

Apologies if I've misunderstood.

 

I’m furloughed, and as long as the economy can afford to prop this up, I think it is a brilliant and generous plan by the government. I am not enjoying it and sincerely wish I was working, if only to ease boredom and feel normal again.
Also, whilst I am not a high earner, for certain, over 20% of my wages are spent on football, live gigs and most of all, at the pub. So now they have all been taken away, 80% is more than generous.
Even my mortgage lender have been in touch to offer me a 3 month payment holiday, but I plan to keep that one up my sleeve for if the situation worsens and the money dries up.

Best of luck and good health to you all.

 

Our firm are very good with sick pay Donny, you get full pay based on your basic hours so no need to drop to SSP. Very generous - but taken full advantage of by the slackers. So far those few hardy souls living with cancer but still working full time who’ve had to self isolate have received full pay. Now they’ll be disadvantaged by only getting 80%. They’re not off work sick but off work trying to protect themselves. Meanwhile the malingerers who’ve gone off sick will still get full pay. I just don't think its a fair way to treat them.

 

Shame on them,

 

I fear you are right about that. The global economic damage is going to be staggering.

 

Rumours that Debenhams is going into administration next week. Following Chiquitos and Carlucios.

 

I received an email today saying I’ve been put on furlough. Shocked me as I work in the education sector, but for a tracking company, and we have things to do for September deadlines. However, I am assuming that as a company they would rather use the government’s 80% than their own cash to pay me. It also says that they will top it up so there will be no difference in pay but I guess I’ll see if that’s the case come next payday.

 

I've been looking at this. Surprisingly I'm getting a fair few bookings for 2021, so as yet I'm hoping not to take this option. It is a safety net though for people like me. i'd be on jack **** if I did, but would just about be able to keep my company going & it employs a lot of subcontracted DJs. i have to think of the best interests of them, as well as myself, or I won't have an agency worth having, whenever we get out the other side. For a business like mine that is probably 12 months realistically.

 

Good work, I rent from a housing association. My service charge at my flat is larger than my rent & that needs paying, or the place falls down. I'm a Director of the management company also of the flats & have to think of the greater good. There are a lot of hard decisions to be made. I've cancelled everything I can in the meantime to stand a chance of seeing the other side. The other side will be really hard, but if we make it we can see the sun rising again on a new future, one I hope where people realise the value in the real things in life.

 

I'm not known known for heaping praise on Tory governments but when they announced this measure I genuinely thought it was a bold and positive step, allowing businesses to furlough employees rather than lay them off but have the majority of their staff costs met by the state. It genuinely never occurred to me that companies would pass on the 80% and say "That's your lot". Surely the whole intention of this scheme was that the government was helping businesses to help their staff, not allowing them to absolve themselves of all responsibility for their employees until it all blows over.

 

Mate, whatever you need to do to keep things going and your head above water. My comment about "taking the piss" was purely a reference to my own situation and the communication from my accountant, who knows full well that I'm not doing any chargeable work to be furloughed from and haven't been since 2014.

 

What do small employers do when the tap is suddenly turned off?

 

Another issue with this system is that the employer get to decide if they are going to furlough you. Some are refusing to do it.

 

Are we expecting the tap to be turned off while the underlying conditions remain? If it were then clearly those businesses would have to reevaluate what they could afford but surely in the short term they should take some of the hit? It can't all be underwritten by government on one side and passed on to workers at the other.

Edit: Perhaps I'm being too simplistic here. Businesses have other costs associated with the downtime that they have to meet themselves. I just honestly thought that under the circumstances many would welcome the opportunity to furlough their staff on full pay with the government paying 80%. They can't all be on their uppers - the stock market was flying!

 

I get your post totally & fully respect you for your position. That is the position I would take too. I'm just putting perspective on this & trying to keep a balance that is not political. The time for politics has gone for the time being. It will return, but for now we have to work together. If I furlough myself i have a very small safety net, but I cut off work for people that rely on me. It is a fine balance between keeping my agency alive on two different fronts. I think your stance is morally correct & applaudable.

 

Think yourself lucky if you get furloughed.

I am a contractor for a bank via an agency. Have been for nearly 9 years. Up until recently I did this via a psc (LTD company) of which i was sole director. The government bringing in IR35 legislation meant the bank forced me to move to an employed solution via an umbrella company.

The government then put back enforcing this, but it was too late as the bank decided that we were doing it anyway. So I’m not self employed. I’m now employed.

As a contractor via an umbrella, I could qualify for furlough. Only my start date was 1 March - I had to have been employed by 28 February to qualify for it.

I can’t claim self employed grants. The umbrella can’t claim furlough. The office has been closed down - the bank and agency are paying me for two weeks, but what after that?

I presumably can’t even claim universal credit as the mrs is on full pay for now from the bookies she works for. So my income, which was about 75-80% of household income, is likely to become 0.

Balls to the mortgage and loans, we’ll struggle to feed the kids on what will be coming in.

 

That is f-ing terrible mate. I'd check if you can at least claim for universal credit. I think you will be able to if your savings are under 16k. There are subcontractors that work for me that are in the same boat. Something needs to be done about this. It's so hard for a lot of people. I've been going nuts over this, as someone who has lost their house & livelihood before during the boom Blair era & getting zero help then. Shout your mouth off, like I do, no one will blame you & if enough people do it, there is a chance of being listened to. The government is the last one I would have chosen, but they are having to get all sides looked after, mostly due to pressure from unions, MPs on all sides & public opinion.

 

I genuinely think you’re right about that last part.

I know for me, even though I’m not particularly affected, even though I’ve got savings as an emergency fund, this has really made me stop and think and re-evaluate what I’m doing, where I’m going, how I’m getting there.

I’ve done the fancy house, fancy car, I buy a new iPhone every year. This has really made me evaluate life. I love my job, but I work 12 hours a day most days, I work most weekends etc. I don’t have any set hours, I just have work I need to get done. My problem is that I take too much on, in terms of work. I get a fat bonus every year because of it, and I genuinely love what I do, but is it really worth it? I’m not so sure.