7 Productive And Financially Important Things to Do If You've Been Furloughed

1. Read up on your rights

Keep abreast with government furlough guidance. E.g.Will your holiday allowance continue to accrue? If you were made redundant would you get paid for untaken holiday? How much notice do you get if you were made redundant? These are all essential things you need to know. Sometimes HR and companies get this wrong especially as the guidance is all new. Make sure there are no mistakes and you are not missing out on any extra payment or benefit.

2. Update your CV

This is something you should do even if you’re pretty comfortable in your job, and/or are not looking to move. But by updating your CV, you will be improving your confidence by reminding yourself of all the things you have achieved. You will also find out if you feel there are gaps that you want to fill.

Having an up to date CV helps you to articulate why you are a good employee and why your company should keep you/ give you a promotion/ give you a raise. All good things that you may not need now, but that you should always be prepared for.

And if the unfortunate happens and you are made redundant, then you will be one of the first ones to get back out there and find another job.

3. Learn Skills that will improve your Employability

Would it help your career if you were better on PowerPoint/ Excel? Use this time to play around on these software. You’ll be able to feel comfortable adding to your CV that you’re an advanced or confident user of the programmes.

Would it help you get to the next stage of your career if you were more confident? Watch Ted Talks for tips.

If your current job could be done by a machine, think of new skills you could learn. Take an online course. Watch YouTube Tutorials.

Check out Fiverr for hot skills in demand right now: Social Media marketing / Advertising/ Whiteboard Animation. Being able to switch up careers or have a skill to fall back on is going to help give you security in the long term.

4. Check in with Your Employer

You do NOT want to be forgotten by your employer. Ask if there is any voluntary work that you could do that would beneficial for when you come off furlough. E.g. reading up on reports, writing up process notes that people never get round to doing, ask if there is any useful training that you could be doing whilst on furlough.

You want to show that you are someone who wants to and will always be useful. You want to be 1st name that people think of when they start bringing employees back. Just be careful about ensuring you are following regulations. In the UK you should not be generating revenue or providing a service for you employer. Some voluntary work may fall outside of that so check with your employer.

5. Sort out your Finances

Get yourself as financially healthy as possible. Having as much money saved up will help you should you fall into any financial difficulty.

• Cut out any unnecessary expenses and monthly subscriptions. Read how I easily cut spend and save £1000+ in the space of 2 hours here.

• Switch Energy Providers

• Make sure you’ve claimed for every benefit and financial assistance you’re entitled to.

• Sell unwanted items on Ebay.
  

6. Side Hustle

Set up that side hustle you’ve always wanted. There are so many different types of side hustles you can start: See here for 5 Online Side Hustle Ideas.

If you are someone who has little savings, this is now a rare opportunity where you can spend 9-5 making money on top of your furlough pay. Making extra money is never easy, but now you have the time to really try.

7. Stay Positive

Don’t pointlessly worry over things you have no control over. For example, why have you been furloughed but not Bob? You cannot change this decision so don’t slide into a bunch of unanswerable questions that will only wind you up.

Remind yourself of all the things you wanted to do when you were working, but couldn’t because you didn’t have the time. You now have a once in a lifetime opportunity to use this precious TIME to assess your life and make the changes you’ve always wanted. Focus on the opportunity instead.