To have a different set of rules for myself and employees

[meelafameela]

I run a seasonal business for example making soap gift sets (very similar but what I do is niche and outing)

I run this with my partner and we have just got to the point of hiring for the first time after running this for 3 years.

In order to hire my partner and I will have to take a big pay cut to the point where we will live on bare minimum and all of our employees packing the soaps will be on significantly more than us.

My partner and I will work for the next 4 weeks 120h a week.

Due to COVID we have been recommended to close the office kitchen so the microwave, toaster, fridge will be out of use. In usual times we would be happy everyone using, but due to COVID we want to reduce cross contamination. We want a rule where the office kitchen is closed to employees. But my partner and I still want to use these. Is this being unreasonable.

My one treat a day is to buy a take away coffee. I can leave at any point during the day to get this, but I can't give my employees that same flexibility. I also can't afford to ask them if they would like a coffee. They will have breaks to do as they wish but they can't just leave whenever to get a take away coffee. Is this being unreasonable? Employees are all around 25 hours a week.They will all still have access to the kettle.

[quote meelafameela]@AaronPurr it costs 99p from pret. Its £5 a week and that is my special treat. I am setting the scene with my situation, I chose this situation and I still choose it. I am not complaining.[/quote]
Rather off topic OP, but have you seen this offer at Pret? Might be worth looking at. www.pret.co.uk/en-GB/your-pret

Totally agree that sometimes one small treat to look forward to is worth the financial outlay, and I'm glad you seem to have thought of a compromise re kitchen.

Just make sure there is only one person at a time in the kitchen . Leave wipes everywhere and make sure they use them on the kettle, taps etc.

Just wanted to say:
You are the employer - they have jobs because of you. So there are different rules because you have different roles.

You mentioned earlier ‘is it expected to buy a round of coffees’ - you set the culture- it’s your business. That type of thing is nice as a one off at Christmas time.

If no-one else has ever worked in the office (have I understood this correctly?) then why not designate the kitchen as a private place, not part of the office, and only use it when no-one else is there?

If I have misunderstood, apologies. If there are existing staff, then one rule for them and one for you is not a good example.

You really gonna eat your freshly made or hot microwave meal whilst your employees either eat their luke warm pasta that's been sat on their desk or spend a chunk of their wage purchasing to go food every day?

I am sad everyone thinks I am an uncaring employer when I am trying my upmost to pay a decent wage, create a lovely office environment, and make everyone feel safe with covid.

You are setting yourself up for resentment. You will scoot off and waste your money on whatever you like. But if you are not providing access to a fridge so your employees to store their lunch it's a bit shit. Not everyone wants to fritter their hard earned cash buying lunch.

Lead by example. Arguably as the leader you should be the last to access anything and ensure your staff can have the facilities they need.

Sure, your choice to be on minimum wage yourself and work all the hours. That is what owning a business is about - presumably if you suddenly start rolling in it you will cut back your hours.

(it's "utmost", by the way)

What's the name of your company and remind me never to apply!!
You are being absolutely ridiculous

You cannot have some facilities for you and some for the workers! This is 2020!!! What makes you think this is ok???

How would you feel if you went to work for someone who did that??

Just leave the kitchen as it is and say 1 in at once - it's not difficult.

As for the take away coffee - stop being so tight and get everyone a coffee at 99p once a day - people will have more respect for you if you treat them with a bit of respect

Oh ffs really? I work in HR and this is ridiculous.

Just have a one using it at a time rule and ask people to use antibacterial wipes when they’re done.

I mean what are you doing for them using the loo?!

Don’t be that employer. Especially a hypocritical one. Arggggg!

Make a sandwich at home and take it in?

As a boss you can come and go as you please surely?

*In order to hire my partner and I will have to take a big pay cut to the point where we will live on bare minimum and all of our employees packing the soaps will be on significantly more than us.
*

So what is in it for you if not money?
Can you explain your business model?
You say it is seasonal- do you operate through the whole year, or just near christmas?
I am confused- why do it if you are making less than the living wage for your efforts?

I've been working throughout this entire thing, in an office with about 10 other people spread over 24 hour shifts, with a kitchen facility, without problem, so I think you're being unreasonable.

Who recommended this? Our kitchen is available for use with wipes to clean before and after. I work in a hospital so I can’t image our risk is less than yours you just need a robust cleaning regime.

There is no logical health and safety reason for keeping the toaster and microwave off. This is simply bizarre. They pose no greater infection control risk than a kettle. Sensible measures should be everyone uses their own cup/cuttlery/plates or provide disposable. There are no shared washing materials or tea towels.....disposable paper towels instead and one person in the kitchen at a time unless it is large enough that 2 or more could social distance. Provide surface antibacterial wipes too so people can wipe down equipment after use.

Ultimately if you are all working together and 1 person is positive there will be a knock on effect to the whole workforce so consider staggered working, work set up (SD) and regular private covid testing.

IMO your H&S advisor has completely missed the point and I'd suggest you look at changing service providers.

We are allowed to use the kitchen at work. One person in at a time, wash your own cutlery but we can use the fridge, microwave, kettle, toaster. You are being OTT. We have been doing this the entire pandemic and no one has caught Covid.

I would think you were an arse. Get cleaning equipment.

Where I work it’s one person using the kitchen at a time but bring and use your own tea/coffee/milk/mug/bowl/cutlery to prevent cross contamination. Kitchen is cleaned regularly and employees must wipe everything down with anti-bac after use.

If you close the kitchen but keep it open for you and your partner as soon as nip out for a coffee use the loo you will have people sneaking in to rinse their mug or use the microwave quickly.

If you are working 120h per week that’s 17 hours per day!

I think you are too focused on your own woes and not thinking about how to provide adequate facilities for your employees.
Its not your employees problem how many hours you work or what your conditions are. Separate the two issues and sort out your own problems yourself.

DH works for a fairly large company and they are not allowed to sit in their work kitchen. They can use the fridge to store called food and milk and they can use the kettle - one per department. Only a set number are allowed in at the same time and they are expected to clean the area afterwards. Social distancing rules have to be obeyed at all times.

The microwave and stove tops are not allowed to be used due to the Covid restrictions they have had in place since March.

This is a legal firm and they have the same rules as other companies we know locally too. All acting within the law and within HSE guidelines.

DH could technically take his own microwave to use in his office, but shouldn't share it with anyone else.

120 hours a week is a lot! So I can see why you feel you deserve a bit more leeway than your employees who'll be working less, but it just doesn't work like that and they certainly won't see it like that. You need to do what will be seen to be fair.

I used to have a boss like that in a tiny new publishing company she set up herself. I was paid 10k a year (this was nearly 25 years so) as an editorial assistant and general dogsbody. She moaned frequently that she only drew a tiny salary (whatever the amount was that she could draw without paying tax) and she paid me more than I earned myself. She'd ask me to go out at lunch and buy her a sandwich and a newspaper and not give me anything towards it. I started bringing a packed lunch and telling her I didn't have any cash. If I put in expenses claims she'd huff and puff about paying them because she thought I ought to suck it up as she had an even lower income yet worked so much harder than me. She genuinely seemed to be aggrieved about this but never seemed to consider that the overheads of an employee were helping to build the business she owned and our situations weren't comparable. (She was also financially supported by her husband - I was single and living in a shared house.)

I'd love to tell you I told her to shove her job but she made me redundant just before i would have been entitled to redundancy pay, and took on a school leaver who she paid even less.

So you're allowing yourself and dp use of the kitchen but not your employees? Wow. How morally wrong of you.

Keep it open. Only allow 1 in at a time and provide equipment for them to clean it down when they're done.

If you do as you've suggested then I'd predict most of them would quit after about a week and go somewhere else for their seasonal job. I would.

[quote Hopoindown31]@sophandbridge

Direct quote from HSE guidance indg293

"What arrangements should I make for meal breaks?

There should be a suitable seating area for workers to use during breaks _ it needs
to be clean and located where food will not get contaminated.

There should be washing facilities nearby, and a means of heating food or water for
hot drinks. You must maintain good hygiene standards."

www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg293.htm[/quote]
you'd think that the government could get the advice consistent across their various websites!

Legally, you may be able to do whatever you like, but don't underestimate the impact it may have on your employees if it doesn't appear to be "fair".

I worked somewhere where the manager essentially did what she wanted and it caused a lot of resentment from other employees as they weren't afforded anything like the same freedoms.

Part of being a good owner/manager is not treating yourself in a hugely different way to your employees, imo.

I’d go with one person in at a time and cleaning in between OP

it costs 99p from pret. Its £5 a week and that is my special treat. I am setting the scene with my situation, I chose this situation and I still choose it. I am not complaining.

If you’re spending this and enjoying it as your treat you should definitely check out the Pret subscription, free for the first month then £20 a month for any coffee/tea/frappe etc (you can ha e up to five a day for that as long as they are 30 mins apart) it would prob work out cheaper for you

It's your business...

You must comply with the law.

But as the boss it is up to you when you come in mleave /have breaks.

The employees may start hating you though

How many hours a day do your employees work? If they are doing 25 hours over 5 days, that's 5 hours a day, and they aren't even entitled to a break.

If you allow them one, where they can leave the premises and do whatever they want, you are being generous.

Do you pay them for these breaks?
I really dont think anyone would expect to pop out for a coffee outside of thier break times. But you are working different shifts to them, so get different breaks. So yanbu.

However, on the kitchen situation yabu. Just introduce a cleaning procedure after every user and the is no reason to stop.them using anything.