Pandemic personal consequences

[MickiQ]

Why should people who are already disadvantaged by the gig economy be made even worse off by only being able to be furloughed by one of their employers, with their income say 80% of 12 hours work a week, when they normally would work 50 hours a week on minimum wage split between multiple employers/agencies?

It's worked out on average weekly pay, so if a person usually receives £300 pay from 1 employer and £100 pay from a second employer, they would receive 80% from each. Why should they lose an entire part of their pay, when people who work for 1 employer are allowed to get 80% of their full weekly pay? It's already a paycheck to paycheck nightmare for people who work like this.

We didn't think he'd get anything as it was 0 hours contract, so this is a real boon.

Agree totally but I wouldn't put it past this shower to say that you can't be furloughed by one employer if another is still paying you (being responsible to the taxpayer and all that). In which case you could end up with only the £100 from the second employer, or restrict it to only one employer only in which case they would have to hope the £300 one did it first and be equally stuffed. I'm pleased that my cynicism has been proven wrong.

 

[Epona]

Agree totally but I wouldn't put it past this shower to say that you can't be furloughed by one employer if another is still paying you (being responsible to the taxpayer and all that). In which case you could end up with only the £100 from the second employer, or restrict it to only one employer only in which case they would have to hope the £300 one did it first and be equally stuffed. I'm pleased that my cynicism has been proven wrong.

Yeah it's ok mate I knew where you were coming from and weren't suggesting it should be the case at all

Had a bit of a moment at the mere thought of it - honestly we've been living for the last 4 weeks (when Nate's work dried up) thinking we were going to have no income for the forseeable, so even this little bit is oh thank fuck

(EDIT to add: I am going to have a celebratory beer this evening I think, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted)

 

[kebabking]

shouldn't be going out anyway.

I don't know if you're trying to be funny, but you have little understanding of other people's circumstances, or what the the necessities of their life are.

This isn't failbook, don't make other people's lives more difficult, in difficult circumstances, with shitty jibes/jokes.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Feeling quite dissociated today. When you don't feel real, going out into a real world and talking to real people helps a lot, but when there isn't much of a real world left and you can't talk to people really that isn't such a great mechanism. The limited amount of photography I can do does help at least.

It's also getting quite hot and stuffy in my flat with the temperature going up. This is going to be murder if it carries on into a heatwave (and it will be hotter this summer than last year - climate change is still happening after all).

 

[Epona]

Feeling quite dissociated today. When you don't feel real, going out into a real world and talking to real people helps a lot, but when there isn't much of a real world left and you can't talk to people really that isn't such a great mechanism. The limited amount of photography I can do does help at least.

It's also getting quite hot and stuffy in my flat with the temperature going up. This is going to be murder if it carries on into a heatwave (and it will be hotter this summer than last year - climate change is still happening after all).

Is there anyone you can phone or video-chat with? It's a poor substitute for meeting face to face with people, but just making contact with someone for a real-time chat about nonsense may help ground you a little. I know what you mean btw, I get that dissociated thing too. (Also getting to 35C in here in the afternoons, I might go and stick my head out of a window for a bit)

 

[Pickman's model]

Feeling quite dissociated today. When you don't feel real, going out into a real world and talking to real people helps a lot, but when there isn't much of a real world left and you can't talk to people really that isn't such a great mechanism. The limited amount of photography I can do does help at least.

It's also getting quite hot and stuffy in my flat with the temperature going up. This is going to be murder if it carries on into a heatwave (and it will be hotter this summer than last year - climate change is still happening after all).

there will be excess deaths due to the temperature in lockdown houses and flats

 

[Epona]

there will be excess deaths due to the temperature in lockdown houses and flats

It is an issue - we are insulated up the wazzoo, which is fucking fantastic in winter (I had the heating on for 3 hours sometime in January as it was slightly chilly, that was it all winter) but south facing double glazing on the top floor with no shade is a fucking nightmare in summer (actually from mid March to mid October usually). We don't have any windows that catch the prevailing breeze (when there is any) either.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Heat is already a serious issue in some countries, particularly where there's already overcrowded housing anyway, say, Manila, which I was reading about in the G the other day. Five people who might technically live in the same flat in that they all sleep there just can't stay there all day. Arguably very few cities are designed for people to be able to stay home all day, certainly not London, but sometimes it's a lot more extreme.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Is there anyone you can phone or video-chat with? It's a poor substitute for meeting face to face with people, but just making contact with someone for a real-time chat about nonsense may help ground you a little. I know what you mean btw, I get that dissociated thing too. (Also getting to 35C in here in the afternoons, I might go and stick my head out of a window for a bit)

I am actually trying to do some online "virtual tabletop" role playing (getting more popular now) - the challenge is to stay unbarmy enough to actually set it all up.

 

[weepiper]

shouldn't be going out anyway.

Separated parents, 50/50 custody. It's allowed.

 

[hash tag]

I don't know if you're trying to be funny, but you have little understanding of other people's circumstances, or what the the necessities of their life are.

This isn't failbook, don't make other people's lives more difficult, in difficult circumstances, with shitty jibes/jokes.

In seriousness, I didn't know that was allowed. Strictly speaking, I know people are not allowed to see elderly relatives and thought parenting issues would be treated similarly.

 

[NoXion]

Just got an email informing me and the rest of my work colleagues that, due to this fucking virus, pay will be frozen this year.

 

[strung out]

In seriousness, I didn't know that was allowed. Strictly speaking, I know people are not allowed to see elderly relatives and thought parenting issues would be treated similarly.

All kinds of reasons kids could/should be going out anyway. Playing in the garden, going with parent to the shops (if too young to be left unattended), getting daily exercise etc.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

I am actually trying to do some online "virtual tabletop" role playing (getting more popular now) - the challenge is to stay unbarmy enough to actually set it all up.

I've been doing some stuff with discord and roll20. It's going rather well to the point of probably continuing to use roll20 for some stuff even when we do physical meetups again.

 

[Teaboy]

Just got an email informing me and the rest of my work colleagues that, due to this fucking virus, pay will be frozen this year.

I don't know what your work is and obviously don't know what you've been promised or what was agreed but I'd be amazed if there are many companies out there doling out annual pay rises under the circumstances. A couple of my friends have just been told to expect pay cuts.

 

[NoXion]

I don't know what your work is and obviously don't know what you've been promised or what was agreed but I'd be amazed if there are many companies out there doling out annual pay rises under the circumstances. A couple of my friends have just been told to expect pay cuts.

Yeah. I guess I should be thankful it's a freeze and not a cut. So far. Still pisses me off though.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I've been doing some stuff with discord and roll20. It's going rather well to the point of probably continuing to use roll20 for some stuff even when we do physical meetups again.

Yeah we are using roll20 as well. It seems to be fairly easy to use as long as you just stick to maps, moving tokens (miniatures) about, and rolling dice in the chat. There's a massive amount of other stuff it can do but let's not get carried away.

Running Starfinder right now - PDFs are discounted on the paizo.com store and there is some level of integration (more so with Pathfinder).

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

We did a pathfinder session and I'm thinking about trying to run a call of cthulu session

 

[Duncan2]

My period of self-isolation following mild flu comes to an end next Tuesday. My employer is a global chain stubbornly refusing to stop on-line sales of fashion and therefore still dragging in its distribution centre staff,of which I am one,despite the mounting death toll in the Midlands (and elsewhere).My request to be furloughed on the grounds that we are supporting the sale of non-essential items in a lockdown has been refused.This despite the presence, in my case, as I made them aware,of a vulnerable person at home. So from next Tuesday I have two options.I either go back to work ( endangering my family-member big-time) or I apply for Universal Credit which (as any fule kno) isn't a lot to manage on.
Is this not a shit situation? And (given that the furlough money is taxpayer-money which employers merely hand on to those furloughed) why the fuckity-fuck is it down to the "discretion" of the employer whether her employee can collect?

 

[Pickman's model]

so my employer is graciously allowing staff to carry over a couple of extra days into next year. but there's no way for me or indeed anyone else to take a proper holiday between now and the end of the holiday year, and it seems from looking at other institutions in my sector that we won't be going back to work before august. i have about 21 days to take, and i'm damned if i'm taking leave so i can sit at home in lockdown. none of the things i'd take leave for in london are available, things like open archives or museums or libraries or events in the streets... hell, i can't even walk a few miles to see my parents. i'm fucking furious - as i expect many of my colleagues are.

 

[Epona]

so my employer is graciously allowing staff to carry over a couple of extra days into next year. but there's no way for me or indeed anyone else to take a proper holiday between now and the end of the holiday year, and it seems from looking at other institutions in my sector that we won't be going back to work before august. i have about 21 days to take, and i'm damned if i'm taking leave so i can sit at home in lockdown. none of the things i'd take leave for in london are available, things like open archives or museums or libraries or events in the streets... hell, i can't even walk a few miles to see my parents. i'm fucking furious - as i expect many of my colleagues are.

GOVT: "This isn't a holiday, stay at home"
POLIS: "This isn't a holiday, go home"
EMPLOYER: "You're losing your holiday leave so this is essentially your holiday"
GOVT: shrugs "We're all pulling together in these unprecedented times..."

 

[Pickman's model]

GOVT: "This isn't a holiday, stay at home"
POLIS: "This isn't a holiday, go home"
EMPLOYER: "You're losing your holiday leave so this is essentially your holiday"
GOVT: shrugs "We're all pulling together in these unprecedented times..."

to (try to) be fair to them, they did initially send everyone home for six weeks, which will take us to the end of the month. at that point they may come out with something more reasonable.

 

[mx wcfc]

so my employer is graciously allowing staff to carry over a couple of extra days into next year. but there's no way for me or indeed anyone else to take a proper holiday between now and the end of the holiday year, and it seems from looking at other institutions in my sector that we won't be going back to work before august. i have about 21 days to take, and i'm damned if i'm taking leave so i can sit at home in lockdown. none of the things i'd take leave for in london are available, things like open archives or museums or libraries or events in the streets... hell, i can't even walk a few miles to see my parents. i'm fucking furious - as i expect many of my colleagues are.

I had 10 days to use before 30 June - use it or lose it (though that is the policy every year tbf)
Combined with bank holidays, I'm now on a four day week, till 31 May - I've kept back 6 days in the forlorn hope that I can take some proper time off in June, but I expect I'll just end up taking 1 or 2 days a week off then too. Irritating, but not a biggie compared to a lot of people's experience at the moment.

We used to be able to carry unused holiday forward, but they stopped that as taking leave is good for our mental health. Fair enough in normal circumstances, but it just pisses everyone off if we have to take holiday to sit at home doing nothing.

I guess their real concern this year is that, if everyone did carry holiday forward, then as soon as we start working/living normally, everyone will take time off, and they won't be able to cope with the work. Which I get.

 

[hash tag]

so my employer is graciously allowing staff to carry over a couple of extra days into next year. but there's no way for me or indeed anyone else to take a proper holiday between now and the end of the holiday year, and it seems from looking at other institutions in my sector that we won't be going back to work before august. i have about 21 days to take, and i'm damned if i'm taking leave so i can sit at home in lockdown. none of the things i'd take leave for in london are available, things like open archives or museums or libraries or events in the streets... hell, i can't even walk a few miles to see my parents. i'm fucking furious - as i expect many of my colleagues are.

Yeah, agree. Mrs T is in a similar position but reckons she will be taking some leave; either that or she loses it.

 

[Epona]

I had 10 days to use before 30 June - use it or lose it (though that is the policy every year tbf)
Combined with bank holidays, I'm now on a four day week, till 31 May - I've kept back 6 days in the forlorn hope that I can take some proper time off in June, but I expect I'll just end up taking 1 or 2 days a week off then too. Irritating, but not a biggie compared to a lot of people's experience at the moment.

We used to be able to carry unused holiday forward, but they stopped that as taking leave is good for our mental health. Fair enough in normal circumstances, but it just pisses everyone off if we have to take holiday to sit at home doing nothing.

I guess their real concern this year is that, if everyone did carry holiday forward, then as soon as we start working/living normally, everyone will take time off, and they won't be able to cope with the work. Which I get.

Denying people their right to an actual break where they go and relax and enjoy themselves is not an answer to this though, yes it may take a bit more planning than usual to cope, but saying "oh it would be difficult for business therefore people shouldn't get to keep their leave" is just typical of their reaction to this sort of issue (their reaction, not yours btw), seriously not going to be crying into my cornflakes if they have a boo-hoo moment about sorting out time off and overtime pay for people to cover that work once all this is over!

 

[cupid_stunt]

so my employer is graciously allowing staff to carry over a couple of extra days into next year. but there's no way for me or indeed anyone else to take a proper holiday between now and the end of the holiday year, and it seems from looking at other institutions in my sector that we won't be going back to work before august. i have about 21 days to take, and i'm damned if i'm taking leave so i can sit at home in lockdown. none of the things i'd take leave for in london are available, things like open archives or museums or libraries or events in the streets... hell, i can't even walk a few miles to see my parents. i'm fucking furious - as i expect many of my colleagues are.

You need to look into that, I was in a Zoom meeting this morning, when both a SME adviser and a solicitor were advising people that they are allowed to carry over holiday, over the next 2 years, and furloughed staff can not be forced to take their holiday during the furloughed period.

This could help:

Government to allow employees to carry over annual leave for two years

Employees who are unable to take all of their statutory annual leave entitlement in the current year will be able to carry it over into the next two years.The amendment to the Working Time Regulations, which was announced on 27 March 2020, has been put in place to support employees ...

employeebenefits.co.uk

 

[hash tag]

Thankfully all my friends are doing the right thing, it's 1 member of our family who is flaunting instruction and is one of the ones who should be adhering to it stringently, i.e. and as I posted in the general chat, our niece, she's 27 so not a kid, is moving between where she lives with my mother in law who is 79 nearly 80 and has serious underlying health conditions, very serious, but the cretin of a niece is moving from the home to her boyfriends and back every cpl/few days. She has a frosty relationship with her Ma who also lives in the house and has been saving to move out/in with her boyfriend, but that's some time away now. So we know her predicament but FFS.

We got hold of her y/day briefly but it was cut short and we've not been able to get through to her since. My wife is in tears about it, her Mum has a pulmonary and heart condition. I am both anxious and so infuriated of the selfishness, we even suggested she come and stay with us for the duration but she absolutely has to stay in 1 place. Sadly we have no idea what else to do

Sorry and of no consequence to you, but this is happening quite a lot. I've been ringing lots of our Predominantly elderly clients (from home). You OK for food and stuff? Oh yes, my daughter/son keep coming to stay for a few days at a time.

 

[hash tag]

You need to look into that, I was in a Zoom meeting this morning, when both a SME adviser and a solicitor were advising people that they are allowed to carry over holiday, over the next 2 years, and furloughed staff can not be forced to take their holiday during the furloughed period.

This could help:

Government to allow employees to carry over annual leave for two years

Employees who are unable to take all of their statutory annual leave entitlement in the current year will be able to carry it over into the next two years.The amendment to the Working Time Regulations, which was announced on 27 March 2020, has been put in place to support employees ...

employeebenefits.co.uk

Said this to Mrs T who said she is not covered by this

 

[cupid_stunt]

Said this to Mrs T who said she is not covered by this

Why?

I assume if she's not furloughed, nor a key worker required to work, I guess it wouldn't apply. I think PM is furloughed.

TBF, there's a lot of confusion, because the government rushed in measures to help as many as possible, as quickly as possible, there wasn't time to dot all the 'i's' and cross all the 't's'.

My accountant mentioned she had been in another zoom meeting & asked a question, and got three different answers from three different solicitors.

 

[hash tag]

She's neither furloughed nor a key worker...is working flat out from home.