Dogs in the office

It doesn’t have to be a registered disability for a workplace to make legal adjustments. Health conditions - which is what allergies are - are included in the obligation to make reasonable adjustments

I’m fine with dogs in the office if colleagues are all generally happy and there is a guaranteed dog free zone. But it sounds potentially chaotic/noisy if a lot of dogs came in! I’ve only ever known a single, very chilled out creature. Where do you draw the line?

Agree. I really struggle to understand the attitude of some than dogs rights trump humans.

Not illegal discrimination though. An allergy isn't a disability.

Imagine the chaos if everyone started bringing their hobbies to the office. Model railways anyone? Basketball nets, bench presses?

Personally if I went for an interview at a dog friendly company and I didn't want to be near dogs I wouldn't want the job. If they hired me because they were afraid of discrimination I would feel like I was changing the rules for everyone who had worked well together before me.

I don't mind dogs being near me as long as they are well behaved.

Dogs should not be in the office.

We have dogs in the office and I wish it would stop. The owners are very arrogant and say people who are allergic/afraid just shouldn't work there. Their colleagues apparently have less rights than their dogs!

*Blomh · Today 07:44

If they were to disclose at interview that they’re uncomfortable with it they wouldn’t be hired. If their reasons are medical that’s surely got to be discrimination?
DH’s boss has his dog at work. I’m sure he’d say it’s his company and he’ll have a dog there if he wants to. Companies are allowed to not hire you if your medical reasons mean you can’t do the job or be in the work environment*

This is blatant discrimination

So you basically opt for employees that like dogs, over the best person for the job?

Anyone that didn't get through to your second round has had a lucky escape to not work for a company with such ridiculous priorities.

As for ' office dogs' , I knew it would become a thing when everyone got dogs in lockdown thinking they would never have to go to a workplace again.

It's not just the cost of dog sitters /dog day care ...it's the availability as well. With the explosion in dog ownership places are just fully booked.

I'm speaking from experience..our ' lockdown dog' is now left on his own for longer than ideal periods of time during the week due to a change of jobs and working patterns. You can guess I wasn't sold on getting her in the first place as I could see the future!

And some people profess not to understand why working at home is so popular. This sort of nonsense is one of the reasons.

You'd have to schedule extra time for my interview as i'd spend the first 20 mins sat on the floor talking to the dog 😂

What I meant was someone who just doesn’t wanna pay for doggy daycare is it the same as someone who needs an assistance dog.

If someone has an allergy, even if they didn’t declare it early on, should have reasonable adjustments made. If they have a dog allergy then that means they need to take meaningful steps to ensure the employee is not exposed to dogs in the workplace.

That is a reasonable and simple scenario - only drama is coming from the dog nutters

If they were telling someone who physically can’t be around dogs to bugger off they’d be in legal hot water

People wouldn't get a job with us if they didn't like dogs, although we are farm based. We own our businesses and (well behaved) dogs come to work, end of. When I worked in industry (we are semi rural) every other main board director came with at least one gun dog as standard. A well trained Lab or Pointer under a desk though when your office backs onto parkland is a far cry from a yapping badly behaved dog in a city environment, so I think its context really. Absolutely complain if the dog is bothering you, particularly as you have an allergy. All dogs in a working environment, whether working dogs, therapy, assistance or pets, must be under control.

A dog who an owner just doesn’t fancy leaving on its own is utterly incomparable
It's comparable in that both can trigger allergies and therefore cause problems to a staff member.

What is not clear is how much of an issue it is. Someone with a severe allergy would be mad not to ask about dogs at interview.

Those who would start to have a sniffy nose if the dog was sat next to them for hours but otherwise ok should just asked that they don't.

Those who can tolerate it but would need to take antihistamine and/or be affected should speak with their manager about arrangements. It doesn't have to be dog Vs no dogs, there are likely a number of options.

Why does everything systematically have to turn into a big drama?

This thread has made me realise that I should have checked with others before taking my dog into the office. And that I won't take the dog in again. So it's been useful for me, OP. Hope you get the situation sorted out.

Those saying they have no choice to take dogs in. That’s why the rest of us pay dog walkers? And if you can’t afford one why did you get a dog knowing you’d be out of the house for 10 hours a day? Surely assuming you can take your dog into the office for the whole 10-15 years of it’s life is a bit of a gamble?

Depends I suppose. If it’s the dog of an employee then maybe the company will decide to exclude it. But if it’s the company owner’s dog they aren’t going to accommodate an employee at their own expense, they’ll just tell them to bugger off.

I have to say I’d probably walk out of an interview that had a dog sitting in on it. So unprofessional and very much a sign of “we a dog friendly, so lump it”.

How could it not be reasonable to exclude dogs, other than assistance dogs? The only downside to excluding dogs is that some dog owners might have to pay a dog sitter if they can't train their animals to survive on their own during daylight hours.

Yes why are crazy dog people taking it SO personally when people have allergies to dogs?

Dogs in offices?! Jesus, I'm so glad I work from home. Can you ask to do this OP?

The two dog friendly offices i worked in were way before Covid. it's not a new thing.....

Haha! I have a friend who has a boa and years ago he met me for a coffee and we sat outside the cafe as it was sunny, he brought the snake along and put it around his neck. The police actually approached us and had a word with him! He rightly pointed out that there were 3 dogs also sitting in the seated area so what’s the difference. They were causing a LOT more bother than the snake (who he called Doris 🤣). “People are scared of snakes” is what the police said. I’m pretty sure tbeyr laugh if I said I am scared of dogs so can they have a word with dog owners.

Do you warn candidates there will be a dog in the interview before they attend? Anyone with allergies or a phobia has a strong reaction, you're okay with that?