To refuse to go back to the office

[tillytalks]

I’m currently on mat leave and due back to work on the 15th March.

I work in an office with 12 other people.
At present everyone is in the office.

There is no reason why people can’t work from
home, and I’m pretty sure the reason is that management are the type that wouldn’t trust staff to work at home.
It’s a family run business and the owners are quite precious.

I’m really careful, I don’t mix, I follow the rules to the letter.

I’m 34, have mild asthma and I also have a high BMI (more than 30 but less than 40)
I’m working out and eating well so I’m hoping this will reduce.

Even still, I just don’t feel comfortable sitting in an office all day with 12 other people.
The office isn’t big. It’s a long room, and although we can distance, I feel like it would still be crowded.

I know that I wouldn’t be given any preferential treatment to work from home, but I haven’t asked so can’t be too sure.

I’ll be working 3 days per week and my son (who will be 13m) will be in a nursery.

I’m also aware that my son being in nursery puts me at risk which is something else I’ve been thinking over.

AIBU to not want to return?

@VanGoghsDog

My mat leave has had to end 3 weeks early so that I could use all my holiday entitlement from my previous holiday year. If I’d been allowed to add this on to the end of my maternity, I wouldn’t have been returning until mid April.

I’ve already signed my new contract now so not sure where I stand.

A) you're entitled to all your mat leave and all your holiday, they can direct when you take your holiday but they have no right to reduce your mat leave
B) you don't need to sign a new contract, rip it up and say the old one still applies. They can simply amend the old one with a letter for the new hours if that is the issue.

@VanGoghsDog

They wouldn’t let me add it onto the end.

My options were to end my mat leave early and take my full holiday allowance, or add two weeks onto the end and then the remaining 4 weeks would be carried over into the new holiday year but paid on my new part time hours.

When it gets closer to the time I would do an email stating your health concerns and the current guidance and ask for a copy of their health and safety risk assesment for the office . Then go from there . You can at least voice your concerns in writing . If they sacked you they would be on dodgy grounds. If they make you redundant there is again a complicated proceedure to go through or they could be in trouble. I assume you have worked there for more than 2 years ?

If we are still in the same situation in March, it is likely that the government will have tightened the rules around working in offices.

Possibly. Just a few things that have caused some issues this year in my organisation (I’m in HR):

• rural broadband not being up to video calls and meetings
• commercial contracts preventing access to systems whilst not on site on privacy grounds (highly sensitive health data)
• printer/photocopying needs - not everything can be done electronically
• staff being uncontactable during working hours/poor mobile signal
• needing to cover reception areas/phones/deal with incoming mail
• ensuring staff wellbeing (not everyone is safe at home, and it may be hard for them to make it known). Having staff in 1 or 2 days a week may ensure their wider welfare.

or add two weeks onto the end and then the remaining 4 weeks would be carried over into the new holiday year but paid on my new part time hours.

Ah, ha, ha ha. No.

Make sure you get all this in writing. You must realise by now that your employer is wrong. Step away from the thread and call 08001712194 to join unison. You'll feel better afterwards.

My options were to end my mat leave early and take my full holiday allowance, or add two weeks onto the end and then the remaining 4 weeks would be carried over into the new holiday year but paid on my new part time hours.

Are you sure? That’s not legal.

My options were to end my mat leave early and take my full holiday allowance, or add two weeks onto the end and then the remaining 4 weeks would be carried over into the new holiday year but paid on my new part time hours.

That is not legal. You've earnt that holiday - I would actually start talking to the union and ACAS now. Also join Pregnant then Screwed on Facebook.

@WoolyMamamoth

There are very few jobs which can be done 100% from home.

I completely disagree with this comment, employers who have invested in the correct equipment for their staff to work from home have seen huge successes across multiple sectors with their staff working from home.

Look at what is happening in Canary Wharf.

I’m in the NHS - the biggest employer in the U.K.. We have neither the resources of Canary Wharf or the ability to treat inpatients/outpatients/cancer patients from home.

You can ask to WFH but if they say no
then you will have to go back or resign or take unpaid leave
Of course you might have a claim against them but that's a long road

If you did get to WFH, what would you do about sending your DC to nursery?

Your bosses are dicks. You should all be working from home unless there's a good reason not to (mental health, no space, etc). They are being very unreasonable.

Surely this is constructive dismiss if I have to resign because I’m vulnerable and don’t want to mix with other people in an office.

But you’re not vulnerable. Nothing you have described puts you in the high risk category, never mind clinically vulnerable. 🤷🏻‍♀️

@TitsOot4Xmas Whereas I know a lot of NHS staff who are working from home, and working from home well. Yes not everyone can do it, but just because some can't doesn't mean everyone should be in a workplace.

You’ve got two months to improve your BMI - are you doing this?

If you’re not taking steps to keep yourself safe, I’m not sure why you think your employer should.

@TitsOot4Xmas actually asthma and a BMI over 30 puts you in the clinically vulnerable category.

@peak2021

Do you know if all 12 are in every day you will be? Could measures be taken such as a screen to protect you? Your BMI and asthma are facts not opinions, could a letter from your doctor nearer the time help (not sure if an option?).

Please please please don’t do this. GPs are drowning in proper work. Ask you employers if you can work from home, but if you can’t you can’t, and you can either accept it or quit.

@tillytalks Do they have the equipment and infrastructure for remote working?

[quote WoolyMamamoth]@TitsOot4Xmas actually asthma and a BMI over 30 puts you in the clinically vulnerable category.[/quote]
No it doesn’t

What are the main factors that could make a person seriously ill with COVID-19?
Public Health England has identified the main factors that increase the risk of catching and becoming seriously ill with coronavirus as:

being older
being obese (with a BMI over 30)
your ethnic background
a weakened immune system
having an underlying health condition (including asthma)
being a man
your job – your risk level is higher if you work outside your home and come in to contact with lots of people every day
where you live - if lots of people in your area are infected with coronavirus, it’s more likely you’ll catch it. Find official coronavirus statistics for your area.

Yes it does - from the asthma link I posted earlier

It might be constructive dismissal but you might only find that out in 2 years time after a stressful and expensive Employment tribunal process

It doesn't put you in the CEV category (just in case you are getting confused with that).

Link here: www.asthma.org.uk/advice/triggers/coronavirus-covid-19/what-should-people-with-asthma-do-now/#Work

So you want to WFH? Then make a formal request in writing to WFH. If they say no then find another job that will be WFH. You are an adult you can make your own decisions.

[quote WoolyMamamoth]@TitsOot4Xmas actually asthma and a BMI over 30 puts you in the clinically vulnerable category.[/quote]
Chronic asthma (ie controlled by steroids and/or a hospital admission in the last year) is high risk where I live. Likewise BMI over 40.

Nowhere near clinically vulnerable.

gov.wales/people-increased-risk-coronavirus

For the people who have commented on this thread that the OP is BU, do you WFH? Or is it impossible in your job to WFH?

I think there is a lot of bitterness towards people who are able to work from home and an attitude of "I can't WFH so why the fuck should you?"

Asthma is not on the CEV list. Nor is BMI.

(We’d have no clinical staff in work if normal asthma meant you needed to stay home.)