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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Employer says I must return to office

497 replies

Dishmatic · 09/03/2021 14:18

I’m currently wfh. A lot of people at my company are in the office and have always been.

Last year I wrote to HR and requested to wfh due to a health condition which makes me vulnerable to Covid.
This was approved and i’ve been wfh since.

I have my Covid vaccine this week. I told my work colleague that I’d booked it and yesterday I had an email from work asking for a catch up about retuning to the office.

I spoke to them this morning and they’ve said that now I’m being vaccinated I will be expected to return to the “Covid secure” office.

I didn’t say anything on the phone but I’m really not happy to go back in.

There’s over 70 people in my office building.
14 in the room I work in!!

AIBU to not go back in due to risks?

OP posts:
Bluesheep8 · 09/03/2021 15:43

Government advice is still to work from home if you can, which I take to mean 'if your job is one that can feasibly be done from home' rather than 'if your boss lets you

I take it to mean 'if your employer allows it' and surely it means all staff doing that job can WFH.

sanfranfibber · 09/03/2021 15:44

@WhenLifeReturns

You're not covered until 3 weeks after the first vaccine and even then that's not a high percentage. You should ask them to give you another 3.5months so that you are covered with both shots.
85% is a pretty high cover.

Come on OP you know you're being unreasonable. You're not medically vulnerable, you can at least negotiate going in 2-3 weeks after your first dose.

BrownEyedGirl80 · 09/03/2021 15:45

You're worried about 14 in a room when schools have 25 plus?

HollowTalk · 09/03/2021 15:49

Has there been any reason for them to query the amount of work you're doing from home?

Standrewsschool · 09/03/2021 15:50

I think it’s reasonable to arrange a date until after the second dose.

14 in a large office is fine. The employers say they are ‘Covid secure’. Have you asked what they mean by this? Have they separated desks out, put screens up etc? Have you visited the office recently? Maybe seeing what measures have been put in place will reassure you.

Totallyfedup1979 · 09/03/2021 15:51

@BrownEyedGirl80

You're worried about 14 in a room when schools have 25 plus?
36 in my classes on average and they switch every hour.

I think life has to start moving again. I think we are all as safe as we ever were...we’ve always had diseases, flu, sepsis and all sorts of things to worry about.

I think everyone should be making their way back into life. We cannot stay like this forever.

I don’t blame op for being scared. We’ve all been told to stay scared. She’s bound to be apprehensive. I also think many of us are going to need more than a little nudge back to work, after a year of the gov promoting fear.

I bet you’ll enjoy going back op!

userxx · 09/03/2021 15:55

Time to dig the work clothes out and head back into the office. All good things must come to an end.

Parentpower20 · 09/03/2021 15:56

Email them and say that on further reflection you’re concerned about coming back at this time. You really appreciate that they have protected your health up to now and you are keen to return to working in the office. However you’d like to delay your start back until 2 weeks after your second dose on xxxx when you will be very well protected.

If you don’t clearly set out your hopes to them, they can’t possible accommodate them. So be brave!

VaVaGloom · 09/03/2021 15:58

@WhereverIlaymyhat2021 How on earth is 14 people in a room covid secure!! Ffs it’s an airborne virus

@wherever -What are you thoughts on schools reopening then?

OP my DH runs a business and has some people in the office & some wfh depending on their role. This has been ok during the crisis and obviously if there was an outbreak in the office (there hasn’t been) would mean there would be home workers still able to continue aspects of the business and it wouldn’t have to close completely. There is starting to be a bit of resentment from some in the office that they are (in their opinion) picking up more work/sorting things out in the office. Some workers are itching to get back. Some prefer to be at home. Employers have to strike a balance between the safety and well-being of all their staff and keeping a viable business going.

You might be pleasantly surprised if you go into your office at the safety measures in place. Cases are very low and you will have a good level of protection from the vaccine by April. What age group are you in? Maybe try and compare level of risk eg there are road traffic accidents every day but you still travel etc.,,

melj1213 · 09/03/2021 15:58

OP YABU

I work in a supermarket so couldnt work from home and am classed as clinically vulnerable (but not in the shielding category) so I had my first vaccine 4.5 weeks ago. I have worked for the entirety of the last year because there is no way my job can be done from home and I need to pay the bills to keep the roof over DD and my head.

Your job had no obligation to allow you to WFH, you have been extremely lucky that they have been so flexible, but if you refuse to go into the office then they may start to think you are using covid as an excuse and do not want to return to work like everyone else. Additionally, how do you know how safe or otherwise the office is if you havent been there for a year? There are strict rules about making a workplace covid safe and some places are unrecognisable from last year because of the rejigging of resources/furniture etc to allow everyone to be socially distanced - my DSis works in an office where usually everyone hotdesked and worked wherever, now everyone has an assigned workspace that is appropriately distanced from the next, breaks and lunches are staggered so that theres no more than a certain number in the break room (which has also been rearranged to be covid safe) at once; the photocopier has been moved to a different location etc

Babyboomtastic · 09/03/2021 16:01

Your company is being unreasonable in ignoring Government guidance for people to work at home if possible, as it clearly is possible (even if not their preference) for you to work at home.

Londono · 09/03/2021 16:02

The people in my organisation who shout the loudest about being more productive at home than in the office are certainly not more productive at home and it is the office based staff picking up a huge amount of slack on their behalf. I'm find it as a customer now too, I waited 30 minutes on hold the other day for a simple query - people will start voting with their feet.

That's not to say the OP isn't working well at home, but it isn't just about her it is about how she fits in as part of a wider team and organisation.

Babyboomtastic · 09/03/2021 16:04

I think some people are assuming that if a workplace can tick the box of 'covid secure' the the WFH guidance no longer applies. That's not the case,and the OP isn't 'lucky' to be allowed to continue working from home, and providing she can't work from home, the employers actually are under an obligation for her (and everyone else) to WFH.

TheKeatingFive · 09/03/2021 16:08

the employers actually are under an obligation for her (and everyone else) to WFH.

An obligation enforced by whom? Government guidance very obviously leaves the decision to employers.

minniemoocher · 09/03/2021 16:10

If you are 3 weeks post 1 vaccine and your employer is not allowing wfh then asking you to return is reasonable. Like many I have worked throughout, and my employer wanted me in partly because we didn't have laptops. If covid secure measures are genuinely in place I don't see why you should get special treatment beyond this point

Babyboomtastic · 09/03/2021 16:11

@TheKeatingFive

Are you suggesting that Government guidance should just be ignored?

SteelMack · 09/03/2021 16:12

[quote Babyboomtastic]@TheKeatingFive

Are you suggesting that Government guidance should just be ignored?[/quote]
Presumably you do understand the meaning of the word guidance?

TheKeatingFive · 09/03/2021 16:12

Are you suggesting that Government guidance should just be ignored?

I’m saying the government has clearly left ample wiggle room for employers to decide ‘if you can’ for themselves.

WitchesBritchesPumpkinPants · 09/03/2021 16:12

Boris said at one of the briefings that employers that didn't permit employees to WFH needed to be reported/taken to task/prove it couldn't be done. He also said obvious builders etc obviously couldn't WFH but other employers REALLY need to step up and enable WFH

Have a good look at the website & see what you can find to support your POV.

You're not being at all unreasonable, but many will not understand how scary it is when you have underlying conditions that make you vulnerable. And if you have been WFH successfully all this time...

Devlesko · 09/03/2021 16:13

YANBU not to go in, and they are \nbu to sack you.
The rules say wfh if you can, your employer is saying you can't and get back in.
I'm not employed by a company because I wouldn't want to be in either. Just cut your cloth accordingly and an umemployed person can have your job.

Babyboomtastic · 09/03/2021 16:14

@SteelMack

Uh, yes, just because it's not legally enforceable doesn't mean it's something that should be ignored at an employer's whim.

And failure to follow guidance may have an effect from an employment law perspective...

Bluntness100 · 09/03/2021 16:16

Some people are posting some right nonsense on here. It’s quite shocking after a year of this crap people still don’t know the rules.

Wfh is at the employers discretion. That’s it. It’s their call. She can request, she can discuss, but ultimately it’s their decision, and it’s irrelevant if some random on mumsnet thinks it’s unreasonable, or if the op thinks she does an excellent job from home. They want all the staff back and no further exceptions

The op is not shielding, she’s had the first vaccination, her employers have been more than generous letting her work from home for so long, when the others had to go in.

They want her back in now, and there is nothing wrong in their decision making criteria there, if she was shielding or unvaccinated it would be different. She’s not.

She can try to negotiate but really at this time it’s simoly because she has anxiety she doesn’t want to go in, and bringing that as a new condition to justify staying home isn’t likely to be well received.

People need to stop posting erroneous stuff. If you don’t know don’t answer.

MessagesKeepGettingClearer · 09/03/2021 16:16

Immunity after 3 weeks post vaccine is incredibly high (in the 80%s). After the second jab it's in the 90%s.

So yes, it's reasonable they're starting to think of your return, even if it's for 3-12 weeks after your first vaccination.

At one point you're going to have to re-enter the world and the vaccination is that time.

WombatWomb · 09/03/2021 16:16

If you're not CEV or on the shielding list what is the issue?

SteelMack · 09/03/2021 16:17

[quote Babyboomtastic]@SteelMack

Uh, yes, just because it's not legally enforceable doesn't mean it's something that should be ignored at an employer's whim.

And failure to follow guidance may have an effect from an employment law perspective...[/quote]
Who says they're ignoring it though? Just because they aren't giving the OP the answer she wants doesn't mean they're ignoring guidance.

I assume if they've asked her to attend work it's because they deem it necessary - none of us (including the OP because she hasn't actually asked) know why that is and therefore we don't know if it's reasonable or not.

Just an observation .... the fact that they have supported OP for a year demonstrates that they can be a supportive and flexible employer, but that shouldn't make it a free for all!