A country full of morons.

[miasmum]

My neighbour was furloughed Suff but her company was still open, there just wasn't enough work for her as she is their accountant

[Kaz]

I thought people were furloughed because there was no work, not because they chose to be furloughed?

That's right, you couldn't ask to be furloughed.

[JoM]

My neighbour was furloughed Suff but her company was still open, there just wasn't enough work for her as she is their accountant

That’s how it’s been at John’s company, he’s one of three out of around 25 who hasn’t been furloughed. He’s had plenty of work to do but there wasn’t enough for the other four draughtsmen who work for him so they were furloughed.
They’ve got contracts with some huge multinational manufacturers but everything came to a standstill because those companies had pretty much closed down when lockdown started which meant they couldn’t get all of the information they needed or site access.

Now places are opening up again, John’s back to making site visits and having more frequent meetings so it’s planned to bring his department back into work.

[miasmum]

and that's how I understood it Jo.

Although a friend of mine who is also a Medical Secretary in a GP Surgery same as me, refused to do things like helping with the phones, which I am doing as there are so few referrals. So her Practice Manager agreed to furlough her. Public Sector workers cannot be furloughed, we are already paid by tax payers money. Needless to say she was furloughed until next pay day when I presume he realised and then she was told, as I would have been, either do the work you can and help your colleagues, or take annual leave or unpaid leave.

[Suff]

However the reason that there is not enough works is because the government shut the economy down. Hence they funded the furlough.

It is not as if the workers have a choice when the economy is shut down. However as it is brought back online the furlough will be removed.

The more people act as if furlough is a holiday where they can ignore social distancing and just do what they want, the faster furlough will vanish.

[miasmum]

I understand all that Suff but for many people furlough is a holiday.

The neighbour I was talking about has behaved impeccably, but she admits its been the loveliest time, getting jobs done, doing the garden, having time for herself when she has worked full time since she left school 40 years ago. My neighbour is a teacher, so on full pay. But spent all that sunny weather laying in her hammock reading, or doing their garden which is now beautiful.

[TheOstrich]

My neighbour is a teacher, so on full pay. But spent all that sunny weather laying in her hammock reading, or doing their garden which is now beautiful.

Our neighbour is also a (primary school) teacher, but she's been planning and working throughout as they've had key workers' children in, up at the school. She has also been home schooling her own two pre-teens. No rest for the wicked!

[miasmum]

My friends daughter is a primary school teacher and she has worked really hard too, as has the daughter of a neighbour who works in a private school. They insist children are online and wearing uniform. They are still charging albeit reduced so I suppose parents really do expect.

I am sure my neighbour has worked too, its just every time I look out the window they are laying reading, doing the garden or out somewhere in the car or having family round.

[JoM]

Two of our neighbours are teachers. One is a Year 6 teacher and has been working throughout although her school had a system of working one week in school and one week at home to support their home schooling programme. She said it’s been hard, a number of the children aren’t coping very well with the whole situation so it’s something new that the staff have had to work with.

The other is a middle school maths teacher (some areas of South Staffs have a first, middle and high schools so middle is, I think, ages 9-14) and she’s had a couple of days in school every week but she’s got two sons aged 10 and 7 so is having to home school them as well.

[Suff]

Mm, teachers are a special case, the government shut their work down totally. I was talking more about the manufacturing and services economy where companies still have to pay rents, service smaller, but now unprofitable, contracts and are unable to employ their full workforces.

Whilst, to many, this appears to be an unexpected holiday; most people have not yet seen the full consequences.

Consider the employers, currently bearing significant costs, because they cannot get the economy moving, watching people flouting the very laws which are crippling their businesses.

Today they are holding staff because it is politically unacceptable to do otherwise.

When a full return to work happens, many workers are going to suffer for this total idiocy. In fact suffering has already begun and will continue to increase over the next 6 months.

People might want to consider just how long they will be out of a job with 10% (or more), unemployed.

Not that it will stop the moronic activities, don't think. Not unless trash TV gets the leaders of some big companies out there saying "what did you think? That we'd let you ignore the rules, take a fun holiday, then just take you all back even though we have lost billions!".

We shall see but I can't see it being pretty.