Training While Furloughed is Permitted

Over the next few days, the UK will see tighter restrictions applied to socialising, as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shows signs of growth for the first time since March. A recent study has shown that the number of recorded COVID-19 cases is doubling every seven  to eight days, with the North of England and young people being the biggest areas of concern.

The pandemic has had a marked effect on the UK economy and although there have been encouraging signs of growth since the lockdown was initially eased, the latest news might not be good for those that remain furloughed.

During the lockdown, SIMIAN was active behind the scenes and although our doors were closed to training delegates, our team were busy training and getting ready for the reopening of our centres.

Dave Randles, SIMIAN’s Operations Director said:

“We were initially reluctant to furlough the team, but as soon as the scale of the Coronavirus pandemic became apparent, like very many other organisations across the UK, we really had no option to ensure that the business remained viable, and as a result, approximately 90% of staff were furloughed at one stage.

We did our best to stay in touch with the team while they were away from work and it soon became evident that they were bored and looking for things to do. It was at this point that we established that staff training while they are furloughed is allowed, as shown in this Build UK blog, and consequently, we set about utilising the furlough scheme to its maximum effect, by training and developing our staff, when they would otherwise have been sat at home.

Our centres in Warrington, Weston-Super-Mare, London and Coventry are all now fully open and are delivering a full CISRS scaffolding training portfolio. Any individuals who are furloughed or organisations who have furloughed staff, could do a lot worse than upskilling before October 31, when the furlough scheme is scheduled to end.”