Car dealer asks workers to take annual leave to cover school closures
Union urges firm to furlough staff
ALEADING car dealer has come under fire after claims that employees would be asked to take annual leave instead of being furloughed.
Workers at all Arnold Clark branches learned on Monday that they would be requested to take holidays if they were not able to work as a result of school closures.
In an e- mail seen by the Glasgow Times, the city- based company asked staff with children to take holidays until February 1, potentially having to use all of their annual entitlement this month.
The e- mail also suggests that as the service diaries are full across many branches and the company is selling almost 1000 cars a month through its website and as a result, it will not be making use of the furlough scheme.
The Scottish
Trade
Union
Congress ( STUC) this move.
Dave Moxham, Assistant General Secretary of the STUC, said: “We believe staff should be put on furlough.
“The regulations also state that staff being required to take holidays can refuse unless they are given twice the notice of the holiday period to be taken – if they are being told to take two weeks holiday they should receive a month’s notice.”
An Arnold Clark employee who has asked to remain anonymous has raised concerns about the situation. She said: “I’m an absolute nervous wreck. I have been asked to use every single one of my holidays because my child’s school is now closed. I’ve been forced to choose between coming to work and my child’s welfare.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman has confirmed that outdoor car lots are able to remain open has hit out at but anything indoors should close under new guidelines issued as part of the stricter lockdown arrangements.
Arnold Clark branches which provide servicing and repairs are also able to remain open as they provide essential services. Following discussions with board members yesterday, Arnold Clark has revealed that employees who have to be away from work for the whole of January will be fully supported. The firm is also ensuring that extra IT equipment is made available for those who are able to work from home.
A spokeswoman for the company said: “From the outset of this pandemic, we have worked to ensure our employees are supported, and communicated to regularly and transparently. The originally proposed date of schools returning after the Christmas break was Monday, January 18, and as a short- term solution to this, employees were advised to use a portion of annual leave, including the use of any extra days they had carried over from 2020.
“However, with a fluid situation such as this, we also advised that this was not a long- term, nor final solution. Following further clarification from the government this morning, it’s clear that the timeframe of these new measures may last for several months.
“In light of this, we have communicated again to all employees advising that alongside the use of a small amount of annual leave, further support will be offered by the company to ensure that any employee that must be away from work throughout January, can do so while also ensuring we keep all employees at 100% pay for January.
“As we move into February any member of staff that has to be absent for childcare, on discussion with our People Team, will be furloughed to allow them to look after their family.”