WFH and Internet

[LindaPen]

If you WFH what arrangements do you/your employer have for Internet access?

I just use my domestic broadband/WiFi and that's fine, it's reasonably reliable, I don't wfh often and if it went down for a bit it wouldn't be critical.

However, I've just been on an NHS call that got cut off because the person WFH lost Internet and now I have to wait 3 weeks for another appointment.

I know businesses can lose Internet too, but actually it doesn't happen for most as much as it does when you're relying on a domestic supplier.

I really needed that appointment and am feeling frustrated, but also, isn't this another reason people should be working at work?

I think a reliable connection should be a prerequisite for WFH if you are client facing.

But, and I know this is just anecdotal, I’ve had more issues at work than home for the last six months. One day the internet went down, another we had a power cut all afternoon, then the heating broke!

I wfh full time. I've had more powercuts in my home than wifi outages.

I wouldn't like to rely on my home wifi for something as important as patient calls, no. Even though it's super fast fibre it glitches and drops me out of (personal, I don't WFH) zoom calls with reasonable regularity. Whereas at work it seems to be solid and my employer is investing in dedicated lines from the main road so we are no longer sharing with other buildings on the same industrial estate to secure it further.

Same here. My (and most of my colleagues) home broadband is faster and has suffered fewer outages the office broadband.

But if a call is cut off, then surely they should call you back or you should be able to call again and pick up where you left off. Having to wait another 3 weeks is ridiculous and a symptom of another failing, not related to where the person is located. With Teams or similar, a person could be anywhere on the planet and as long as the connection is sound, it's irrelevant.

If the NHS staff member could not carry out their prearranged appointment due to their own internet then you should complain right now and in writing and be given another appointment asap and by that I really mean today/tomorrow. Please don’t accept waiting 3 weeks. What if the same thing happens then?

I did call back, but they apparently can't take the call without Internet access to my notes and I was offered the next available appointment.

Which is with someone else

I work from home most of the time, and its not actually in our contract, but there is an understanding that you have to have 'decent' wifi to do so. But there is no specification of what this is. It just has to work. I personally don't work with clients but many do. In this instance though its not the same in that the clients are not patients and there will not be a queue of however many patients also waiting for their online appointment.
I have M350 fibre with Virgin (so 362Mbps) and it works fine (I test software, so I have to be able to VPN to work and use the databases as well as have team meetings etc) We rarely lose internet, but when it does happen its incredibly frustrating, however it has happened in the office occasionally too. I do agree that you should complain though - its not acceptable for an issue their end to affect your appointment. However I doubt anything will come of it.

Quite often if I lose connection at home it's my work systems rather than my own WiFi.

They use Attend Anywhere for NHS appointments and I assume that's on their own server although it does need WiFi.

Most workers don't get their WiFi paid for unless maybe if they're designated home workers but they save employers a fortune in office space.

We couldn't fit into our office if we were all in at the same time but we still get nothing for WFH.

I wouldn't be blaming individual public sector workers who can probably barely afford their bills as it is and likely have had to find space in their home to be able to do the appointments at all.

The internet goes down whether you are at home or in the office. It's not more reliable because it's paid for by a bit organisation (it's the same cables and networks). I actually dread going into the office as the internet is really unreliable - I work for a university but in an NHS building.

It sounds like it's less about the internet going down and more about lack of access to NHS systems. My NHS colleagues have a nightmare of a time getting into NHS records, no matter where they are. It's as likely to be a records system failure as it is to be BT cutting out. They should be offering you a FU appt though or some sort of follow up to deal with the requests you had.

I’m a civil servant and the internet in my office is pretty poor compared to my home broadband.

I wfh full time. My employer's policy is that if the Wifi goes down it's on me to make sure I have suitable alternative arrangements to continue my work day. For me that's hotspotting from my phone, or heading to the library. My phone data is quick enough to do most video calls, so that's what I do on the rare occasion I lose wifi. I did switch internet providers though for reliability reasons. I was with Virgin, and lost connection frequently. Moved to talk talk and have rarely had a problem since.

Had very similar - and I work for the NHS!

I use my own Internet- tbh I think probably everyone does who works from home.
Unfortunately power cuts etc happen- even when you are in the office.
If it is a continual issue they should look at solutions .

Where I work - if you temporarily lose connection at home, you'd tether on your work mobile hotspot; if there was a problem lasting longer than that day, you'd be expected to go into the office to work.