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Original poster

Manager wants us to have in-person meetings of 15 from next week

161 replies

Wilker · 05/04/2021 01:32

As in the title really... Apparently we are going to be having in person indoor meetings of 15 people from April 12th, and 30 people from May 17th.

Absolutely no business need for these meetings to be happening in person. We are all admin/office staff and have been working fine from home.

I wanted to check whether they are even legal? Aren’t the 15/30 people gatherings permitted for weddings only?

OP posts:

CateTown · 05/04/2021 10:05

I have daily meetings with 32 other people. No masks, very little social distancing. I’m a teacher!

Oh god will teachers never stop going on ...

Teachers can't work effectively remotely. Those workers who can have done so to keep infections down. Why is it so hard for clever teachers to understand?

Springhat · 05/04/2021 10:06

@user1487194234

Some of our employees think they are as efficient WFH as being in the office They truly are not,and if we don’t get them back the business will be in serious trouble

I think this is a good point - we are surviving but we are not thriving...some people might find themselves at home and not through choice.

CricketClub · 05/04/2021 10:06

I wanted to check whether they are even legal? Aren’t the 15/30 people gatherings permitted for weddings only?

If that were true, schools up and down the country have been breaking the law for weeks...

CricketClub · 05/04/2021 10:07

Oh god will teachers never stop going on

The OP asked if it was legal. An example of why it was perfectly legal in the workplace was given. I hardly see that as ‘going on’.

CateTown · 05/04/2021 10:09

I'm frustrated with the differing attitudes from the public towards face to face meetings

To be fair, the government has done an excellent job of both terrifying a large section of the public and making them feel it is their civic duty to STAY HOME.

Springhat · 05/04/2021 10:10

And anyone who has tried to get in touch with customer service depts will attest to things not working very smoothly and the excuse is always sorry I'm working from home - the phoneline/internet isn't great. Wait times have increased enormously - and I'm referring to phone companies like Virgin and computer companies like HP - who you'd think would have got on top of the tech issues...we are voting with our feet - totally fed up hearing excuses and then being told people are working more productively from home - maybe some are - but in our experience a hell of a lot certainly are not.

moochingtothepub · 05/04/2021 10:10

We have our age this month in person - room has been assessed for max capacity at 2m distancing. Not everyone has internet and it's not easy via phone on zoom

fruitbrewhaha · 05/04/2021 10:10

You say you have been working fine from home, but maybe you haven't. How has the company performed over the last year? It may be that they can no longer afford the performance drop and need to ramp things up.

CateTown · 05/04/2021 10:12

OP was talking about office workers who are able to work from home so the comparison with teachers who are unable to work from home is irrelevant ... and tiresome.

FusionChefGeoff · 05/04/2021 10:13

The instruction is meetings must be 'essential' 'cannot be delayed' and 'cannot be done from home' so it's a very high bar to bring people together at the moment.

I have recently consulted a lawyer on this specific question in a professional capacity.

moochingtothepub · 05/04/2021 10:14

@MilduraS

You might think that university admin was working fine from home but my student dds and lecturer exh do not agree, they say it's been a nightmare sorting anything because there's no admin staff

HercwasanEnemyofEducation · 05/04/2021 10:15

No one is comparing to teachers. They're comparing the ATTITUDES towards the same things and pointing out that face to face meetings aren't illegal.

FusionChefGeoff · 05/04/2021 10:15

Here's the guidance from the Gov too

Manager wants us to have in-person meetings of 15 from next week

BeakyWinder · 05/04/2021 10:18

Plenty of office workers have been in the workplace throughout, I'm one of them! I'm sure it will feel weird going 'back to work' after a year at home but within a few days you will adjust.

FusionChefGeoff · 05/04/2021 10:18

Mind you the instructions in the 'offices' sections is a bit weaker..

Langsdestiny · 05/04/2021 10:21

You will adjust. God I hope not. I hope this has changed the way I behave in all sorts of ways not just work. I hope I am strong enough to resist the 'this is the way its always been'.

CricketClub · 05/04/2021 10:22

@CateTown

OP was talking about office workers who are able to work from home so the comparison with teachers who are unable to work from home is irrelevant ... and tiresome.

As I said, the OP asked if it was legal. It is.

Plenty of businesses want their staff back in because productivity is poor. For others, it works.

Schools, nurseries, doctors can and have worked remotely and for some it worked well and for others provision has been poor.

If businesses want their workers back to save them from going under, so be it.

Soontobe60 · 05/04/2021 10:24

@CateTown

I have daily meetings with 32 other people. No masks, very little social distancing. I’m a teacher!

Oh god will teachers never stop going on ...

Teachers can't work effectively remotely. Those workers who can have done so to keep infections down. Why is it so hard for clever teachers to understand?

Not ‘going on’, just stating facts.

We have seen that its the quality of the support that children get at home that’s had an impact on learning. I can work very effectively from home thank you very much. I can’t teach in the same way though. Many companies have now done assessments on the effectiveness of WFH, and the results are very mixed. My DD1’s company are going to continue WFH until the end of the year, with staff going into the office on a weekly basis within a bubble of colleagues. Most of her work was done online anyway pre Covid so not much has changed apart from the daily commute. The staff they are prioritising to go in are those who have requested it - singletons who are stuck in a bedsit, parents with preschool children who find it impossible to work with children round their ankles.
My other DD is the HR director of a large UK online business. All staff WFH during the first lockdown, including call centre staff. Now the call centre staff are onsite in a bigger facility with the ability to WFH 2 days per week.
Personally, I’m more than OK with being in school, I know my pupils are probably better off here rather than at home - some did absolutely no learning during both lockdowns and parents refused the offer to have them in as vulnerable children.

Why is it so hard for people to stop goading teachers?

Ughmaybenot · 05/04/2021 10:28

@BeakyWinder

Plenty of office workers have been in the workplace throughout, I'm one of them! I'm sure it will feel weird going 'back to work' after a year at home but within a few days you will adjust.

This! Worked in a GP surgery in a receptionist role throughout.

ScrumptiousBears · 05/04/2021 10:28

My immediate boss is saying all back in my he office in June. The company as a whole is staying quiet at the moment although we have had a wfh survey we completed some months ago. I wish someone would make a decision really.

ParadiseIsland · 05/04/2021 10:42

The right question isn’t about it being legal.
Nor is it about whether you have worked from home for a year. Things that are acceptable short term might well be manageable long term. All businesses will have to find a new balance re meetings but saying that no meetings should ever happen isn’t realistic.

For me the right question is about mitigating actions:

is the room fully ventilated?
are lateral flow tests available before the meeting?
is everyone wearing a mask?
will there be drinks available people will take said mask off)?

Etc.....

CateTown · 05/04/2021 10:43

We have seen that its the quality of the support that children get at home that’s had an impact on learning

Nonsense.

I can work very effectively from home thank you very much

Not effectively for your pupils.

Why is it so hard for people to stop goading teachers?

No ones goading teachers. This thread was about the legal situation regarding office workers but teachers can't resist making it about them. It would be amusing if it weren't so tiresome.

Most teacher weren't in school from end of March 2020 to beginning of Sept and off again from end of Dec to middle of Feb!

CricketClub · 05/04/2021 10:46

For me the right question is about mitigating actions:
- is the room fully ventilated?
- are lateral flow tests available before the meeting?
- is everyone wearing a mask?
- will there be drinks available people will take said mask off)?

No, no, no and no.

Back in the real world....

borntobequiet · 05/04/2021 10:47

OP was talking about office workers who are able to work from home so the comparison with teachers who are unable to work from home is irrelevant ... and tiresome.
My role is quite specialised but one thing I found in the first lockdown was that my working from home and my learners learning from home on a flexible basis with support when needed was for many a far better experience than being crammed into a classroom. They got a far more personalised and effective service, and were far more likely to pass exams. My employers, though, wouldn’t consider this as a useful model for going forward as they only consider learning to take place in a classroom with bums on seats.
Having said that, my point in posting earlier was to highlight the discrepancy between sectors and the absurdity of telling people in one situation that it’s unsafe, and in the other that it’s safe - which was what I was told in early December with infection rates going through the roof.

CricketClub · 05/04/2021 10:49

We have seen that its the quality of the support that children get at home that’s had an impact on learning

Nonsense

Why nonsense? This has been one of THE biggest obstacles re. remote learning.

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