The government has said that people who can't do their jobs from home should start heading back to work this week - but what does that mean for parents?
With schools still closed, can they make you return to the day job if there's no one else able to look after your children thanks to lockdown?
The good news is that not having childcare is a perfectly valid reason to be put on furlough, the bad news is that it's up to employers to do it.
This means that bosses have the power to choose who can, and can't, stay on furlough when things reopen - rather than employees having the power to choose for themselves.
But there are legal protections in place to let you keep hold of your job if you need time off to look after the little ones.
Jennifer Smith, Employment Partner at top law firm JMW, said: “Employees are entitled to take a reasonable amount of dependent’s leave to care for their children in emergency situations but typically this type of leave should be taken for no more than a few days.
"If an employee needs a longer period of leave, they may be entitled to take parental leave."
Sadly, while you might be entitled to parental leave, that doesn't mean you'll get paid.
Rules on parental leave
Coronavirus or not, parental leave promises mums, dads and other guardians a decent amount of time off. Just not money automatically.
“Working parents and guardians are entitled to 18 weeks’ unpaid parental leave for each child in their care, which can be taken at any point before each child turns 18," Smith said.
"It must usually be taken in blocks of a week, and the employee can use up to four weeks of it each year.
"If an employee is taking parental leave of four weeks or less, the employer should hold the original job open for the employee, or if they can’t do that they are entitled to a similar job with at least the same status and conditions."
You might need to give notice, however.
"With unpaid parental leave, the employer can insist that the employee give 21 days’ notice of intention to take leave," Smith said.
You also lose your legal right to it if you're new to your job.
"An individual has to be an employee (to have a ‘contract of employment’) and have to have worked for the current employer for at least 12 months," Smith said.
But that doesn't mean bosses can't be more generous.
"These are the minimum legal requirements, however - many employers will provide better entitlement for parental leave, such as allowing an employee to give less notice or making it and dependants’ leave paid or part-paid leave.," Smith said.
"Alternatively, an employee could ask to take paid annual leave or to continue to work from home.”
