Working from home - Where do we stand??

[Lou0808]

DH was sent to work from home back in March.

He never actually started working from home as he was placed onto furlough, however his equipment was all set up ready to go.

In May, his company ended his furlough and he's been working from home.

He's part of a team of 5 but only DH was asked to return.

At the start of this week, the other 4 members of his team (his manager being one of these) were taken off of furlough and returned to work.

His manager decided to work from the office and the other 3 colleagues are working from home.

Now today, his manager (who is in the office) has asked DH and his colleagues to return back to office from Monday.
He hasn't given much of a reason other than "due to the complexity of upcoming work"

DH thinks this is just an excuse as on Monday a zoom meeting took place and an older member of staff (not in his team) was complaining about people working from home(he's old fashioned)

This week a company email was also sent round, just a general update, about furlough and people working etc, the email stated that the company will support staff to work remotely, where possible.

DH has been working from home for the last month. So it's entirely possible.
He's not behind on any work and infact he said he finds it more productive working from home.


There's absolutely no need for him to go back in.


We have a 4 month old baby and we've barely left the house for months now, other than to exercise or to take DD to the drs for vaccinations.

I'm very anxious about him being around other people. Mainly because I have asthma (controlled) and I'm concerned about the risk if I were to catch Covid, I'm also worried about DD.

Everything on the gov website states to work from home where possible.
It's entirely possible for him to work from home as he has been doing for the last month with no issues!!


He's going to speak to Hr, but I'm just wondering if his company can over ride the government advice and make him go back to the office?

[Uhoh2020]

Government advice is just that.....advice. it's not a legal requirement like the lock down restrictions are, what Is probably legal though is the employers need to make sure the work environment is safe and everyone can socially distance effectively

[BarelyMerry]

Yes, the Govt advice is still to work from home if at all possible - in fact Matt Hancock has just said the same at today's daily briefing. He should ask his manager why WFH is no longer effective. His company should have a thorough risk assessment that is shared with staff, to outline the steps they are taking to mitigate the risks. Things they should have considered include :

Cleaning regimes, one way systems, PPE (where appropriate), what happens if a work colleague is taken ill at work, or has symptoms of COVID, availability of hand sanitisers (should be at least 60% alcohol), provision of ventilation, visitors to the site, consideration for staff who have to use public transport.....

I attended a really informative webinar and went away thinking that my team could work very easily from home and we wouldn't be venturing into the office any time soon! I would suggest he contacts his manager in writing to ask why WFH is no longer viable, reminding the mgr of the current Govt advice, and asking for a copy of the risk assessment as a first stage. If he's in a union, I would make them aware of the situation.

[Grumpybuttons]

@Lou0808 I think Hancock just mentioned working from home on the daily update. Have a look.

[Michellebops]

I'm in Scotland and our position up to and including phase 4 is working from home remains the default position.

You husband should ask what safe return measures have been put in place to guarantee his and others will be safe there.

At the moment when you're not allowed to visit family in their homes, it shouldn't be safe to mix with colleagues.

To prepare for us returning in August time our work has set up a one way system for entry and exit, temperature checks before entering, many sanitizer stations plus compulsory face masks, staggered start times, lunch at our desks and no more than one in the kitchen should we need to use the microwave or kettle which we need to sanitize after each use, better still bring a sandwich and flask. One person to use the toilet at any time even though there is 3/4 cubicles, only one person per office therefore we may not be in every day.
This is only a fraction of our safety measures in place.
Our industry is key within the supply chain and been open throughout so there is still some staff on site

[Bol87]

Our office is opening up in July. On a voluntary basis. No reason at all for it to open as we could already WFH as & when needed and it’s working perfectly well everyone being at home.

However, several managers have seen quite a dip in productivity & have pushed to get the office back open. And they’ve agreed. I work for a large, global company but in one of their smaller local offices. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It will be voluntary but managers will be pushing those with lower productivity in I imagine! There’s one member of the team I manage (I’m currently on mat leave) who literally just doesn’t work. But is a valuable employee in the office. It’s baffling!

It’s only advice .. you could ask your OH to mention your asthma & say you are at higher risk? Although asthma isn’t considered that concerning .. its off the shielding list now & just extra caution is required. Which arguably WFH would be! As for DD, children are so low risk. I’ve got a 3 month old & I’m living life within the new normal.. walks, pop to the shops, picnics etc in the garden & DD1 is back at nursery! Babies are nice & easy to distance unlike my 3 year old 🙈

[Lou0808]

@Bol87 I've seen a few posts about asthma being removed from the shielding list, but it's still on the NHS website?
So I wasn't sure if this was correct or not.

[20mum]

Probably unions should be onto this. It isn't reasonable for the whimsical decision of a manager to result in you risking your life, and that of your family, when WFH is possible.
There is also the cost of increasing the risk for truly essential journeys, by cramming roads and transport with people whose journeys are not necessary.
There is also the climate emergency, particularly as your children might want life to be sustainable for humans for another century, and the tipping point is within a few years.

[Parker231]

We’re all returning to the office from the start of September.

[Bol87]

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/27/phone-texts-notify-cancer-transplant-and-asthma-patients-they-are-off-shielding-list