Girls arriving and leaving work early morning late evening

[OneCheeryGoldMoose]

I know I'll probably be told off but just for traffic posting on here.

My husband and I run a company and we have two younger girls who run the office with us.

Husband and I are going away for three weeks for a wedding and making a family holiday of it as it's over the other side of the world.

We have an office that's on an industrial estate and is very dark and not well lit in the mornings and evenings- and we start early due to the nature of the business 5.30/6am to get all the boys in and out with job pack if they are required on the day.

Normally we pick the girls up on the way in and drop them home during the winter for safety as they are local.

I know it's probably over the top of me but we are worried about them feeling safe getting in and out on their own in the mornings and evenings (it is a sketchy South London Industrial estate)- does anyone have any suggestions to make them feel a bit safer. We have a ring camera set up on the door of the office.

None of the boys can bring them in as they have material to pick up.

All the people bitching would be the first ones to complain if their precious child was left to leave work in the dark alone whilst the employer was on holiday!

I've added our card to the girls uber accounts for them to use if they want to. They're locking the door behind them and we've ordered them alarms.

Exactly. . . So you wouldn’t be happy about them leaving in the dark alone like @OneCheeryGoldMoose you would do something about it.

Yes they did.

They've said it's their next three weekends sorted 😂.

Obviously in a joke context before people start jumping on me.

Cool, but we have offered so...I really don't see what everyone's issue is. I am planning to keep these girls employed until such time they can progress and either start their own company up or become supervisors in mine, so I look after my staff- it is insane that people are finding issue with that.

This. OP offered (which was very kind) and they declined. That’s all there is to it.

She didn't rule out taxis. They can use one if they want, they are on her uber account. It's an ideal solution.

What if their parents have to get themselves to work? What if they are living independently like I was at that age?

I think in view of the fact they’ll be running business while you’re away, the offer of paying for their transport is the very least they can expect. Hope they’ll be getting a big bonus too.

...Have you read any of the thread, or indeed my original post. I really am baffled by some of the responses on here.

Ah yes. The usual 'all business owners are evil' response, this time without even taking the bother to even read the thread.
What a silly post

Your business sounds like an employment tribunal waiting to happen.

I'm not sure why you are getting a hard time OP, you sound lovely!

It's not wildly uncommon for employers to risk assess travel to and from work either. I used to work for an organisation that sent support workers to people's homes. Shifts that started early/finished late or were in particularly dodgy areas always had a risk assessment attached. This sometimes meant sending workers in pairs or in taxis 🤷‍♀️

the OP as the employer has a duty of care towards their employees. Its not for the employees to do their own riak assessments. The OP should have a lone working policy and risk assessments in place. The employees should then follow the process.

If the OP doesn’t do this and anything happens to the employees then its on the OP, they wouldn’t be able to defend themselves with ‘well the people on mumsnet who have never worked a day in their life said they should do their own risk assessments & that the real issue was me calling them girls, they are adults responsible for theit own safety & I shouldn’t micromanage’

totally acceptable defence

For doing their job whilst their colleagues are on annual leave? What a bizarre take on a completely normal situation. Or should the OP never go on holiday because she owns the business?

Literally what you said....I am actually growing concerned by these comments. As the business owners myself and my husband have obviously covered our roles and will be on the phone and emails as normal whilst we are away, while our staff continue their day to day jobs....It is insane how much of the real world some people clearly have no knowledge of.

Have you ever been in a situation at work where an employer risk assessed how you commute to work? That is not the responsibility of the employer.

If this was about lone working, i.e. working off site alone (it’s not, they are arriving at their place of work to do an office job) then yes, it would be the employers’ responsibility. But this is simply about these two clerical staff travelling to work, and going into the building. Commuting. Like millions of other people.

I work have worked in the public sector for decades. I am fully trained for lone working in difficult locations and situations. Never once has the subject of how I commute to the office been raised. That is for adults to deal with themselves.

It's not my responsibility no...but I am a family business, not a large public sector organisation. So yes, I check my small team of staff...I really don't understand the difficulty people are having with this.