Refusing furlough

Refusing furlough

Refusing furlough; The research suggests that 70% of requests for furlough by working mums are being turned down. As a consequence, 90% of 10 mums said their mental health had been negatively affected. Around 25% of mums claimed they were worried about losing their jobs because of their situation, becoming a convenient target for redundancy, sacked or denied hours.

Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary, said: “Tens of thousands of mums have told us they are despairing. It’s neither possible nor sustainable for them to work as normal, while looking after their children and supervising schoolwork.”

The TUC is calling for the granting of a temporary legal right for working parents to access furlough funding.

Human professionals

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “In principle, public funding from Government should be targeted to where it’s most needed by society, where the pain is being experienced most keenly. Furlough pay shouldn’t be another form of privilege for those already in the most comfortable situations.

“At the same time, this isn’t a problem that’s just about Government funding. Employers have a formal duty of care to their staff which extends into the home if that’s people’s place of work – as well as a broader responsibility to be aware of what it means to be WFH while also home-schooling and taking on more caring responsibilities during a serious lockdown.

“Being professional has long been assumed to include shutting out ‘irrelevant’ personal considerations and distractions, putting job demands first. Years of changing social attitudes to the role of men and women don’t seem to have had any great effect. But the experiences of Covid-19 should have brought about changes. Because being professional should include being human and unselfish, being able to balance work/life responsibilities, wanting to share the duties and burdens of partners and family members.”

Refusing furlough, Eugene Farrell