Can my work keep me prisoner/ in quarantine?

[Jsygrl]

I work in a care home and I love my job even though it is really tiring, I work 12 hour shifts and when I work 3 consecutive days it really wipes me out. Now that coronavirus has the world in a panic my work has informed us that should anyone within the home or a relative of anyone within the home be diagnosed with coronavirus the carehome will be locked down and quarantined for 14 days. All staff in the building will have to work for that entire duration. At the care home I work in we have day staff and night staff, I start at 07:30 and finish at 19:30 when nightstaff take over. If it’s locked down in the day that will mean that night staff will not be allowed to enter, so essentially we will be working 24 hours a day for 14 days?! Is this even legal/allowed? On top of that I have COPD so I’m really worried that coronavirus might even kill me if I become infected because I’m higher risk? I’m really concerned about this because should it kill me I don’t want to be ‘at work’ I want to be surrounded by my family? So am I legally entitled to tell them that I am not staying and do they have the right to detain me against my wishes? Can they fire me for that? Thank you, this is really making me worry x

They can't do this but I spoke to an old colleague the other day who was told the same thing. All care comes were required to have contingency plans for this in their business continuity plans a good period of time ago.most local authorities should already have been speaking to the providers to discuss emergency options.

However there are loads of cowboys running homes they are threatening things like this (even one I know of who Is refusing to let residents who have full capacity and usually go put to day centres leave.....this is against the law in a big big way)

OP I would doubt they can stop you , of course care homes have dependency level tools they have to cover but they need to have a plan in place (that does not include restricting staff). However if you work for a small provider it is possible you , in the thick of it ,, will experience comeback on it . Eventually any provider who has done this will face employment law issues but that will take time to resolve.

Can they do it ? No , are they doing it ? Yes definitely. However they literally can't keep you against your will. Walk if you need to put I can't honestly say you may not lose your role in the short term , but you would have a case for comeback on them.

I would strongly encourage you to consider whistle blowing if you need to.

Although I would say that's a bit dramatic about dying ? The rest is solid but unless you have underlying health problems (if I've missed that and you have I apologise) , why do you think you would die?

And yeah to a lot of the posts...I was just gonna collect my bag from the car and leave...I don’t want to die when I am not with my family....

Just seems unfair because I will probably get fired....

I don’t think it is dramatic because I have COPD which affects the lungs and I have read that people with COPD are high risk because coronavirus literally attacks the lungs....

There are a lot of grey areas when it comes to containing coronavirus in health/care settings.
I’m a nurse in a hospital (not in the UK) and my manager sent me numerous emails this week whilst on leave demanding to know all my holiday destinations. I obliged but I still think they had no right to this information. They probably have the right to ask me to self isolate for 14 days if I’ve travelled overseas through any of the countries with mass outbreaks like China or South Korea but it’s none of their business if I have been on holiday at the beach a few hours from where I work.

From what I have been told, people with pre-existing respiratory conditions are high risk for developing complications with coronavirus. I honestly wouldn’t take the risk. Do you desperately need the job? Will your life fall apart if you leave?

I don’t desperately need it to be fair but I really enjoy and love my job.

Ah well as I said if there are underlying conditions (I did specifically say if there are ) then no fair enough , it would be extremely unfair but the risk is in the maelstrom of all the care homes reacting it's possible they may get away with it in the short term but you would have a solid case to go back to them and raise it under employment law, how long have you worked there ?

I’ve onlŷ worked there 4 months which sucks

So yeah, as much as I really like my colleagues, as much as I really love the residents, I’m gonna have to just quit because I love my family way more and they are concerned about me getting coronavirus when I have COPD xx

I wouldn't quit as yet if you feel you are able to leave at the time? There are a lot of unknowns about how the care sector are going to react, a huge amount of providers are jumping the gun which is understandable but you'll find a lot of them wont actually follow through when it comes to it, I'd be more inclined (if you know you can leave in the moment so to speak) to speak to the local authority , ask what they are advising care homes to do. I know what the south east ones mostly are advising. You dont have to tell them who you are, might give you an argument to suggest alternatives. I know someone who did that and explained she was a concerned family member in general.

Tell them "Go ahead. The Victoria Derbyshire show will love it"

You'll be sick if you catch it and you're entitled to be on sick leave.

I suppose they could ask for volunteers from other care workers who have already had the virus and recovered, although reinfection has been suggested a possibility.

Pretty sure this is illegal?

The only employers that can do this are the military. And only then in very rare cases to aid the civil authorities. And they know. And their families know. (And it’s not just ‘the army’ lol.)
Everyone else they can ask - but unless we start welding people into apartments, it isn’t enforceable.

This would be illegal they are taking the mickey.

They have the right to send you home as ask to to self isolate and not return for 14 days, they don’t have to right to make you continue to work and quarantine you in the home. It’s not a cruise ship with no home port in site! Besides if you got sick would they expect the elderly residents to care for you? Exposing them further? I wouldn’t quit though, if they try to enforce it you can walk away and claim unreasonable dismissal if they try to sack you for it

Private nursing homes make a fortune, pay their staff peanuts.They shouldn’t expect their staff to possibly sacrifice themselves let alone their family’s.

I think once this disease enters a care home, then unfortunately most of the inhabitants will not survive. Just look at what happened in that care home in Washington. Once this virus really gets going over here I doubt they will even bother treating those in care homes. It will become more like a palliative care facility.

If you have COPD and don’t need to work personally I would quit and enter self isolation now. You’re very high risk, especially if you’re over 50.

Apart from the illegality of keeping you against your will, how are they expecting people who could potentially get the virus to be able to actually work?

I’m gonna have to just quit because I love my family way more and they are concerned about me getting coronavirus when I have COPD
..I don’t want to die when I am not with my family....just seems unfair because I will probably get fired...

Well why quit before you get fired?

Is the carehome still allowing visitors? In Ireland carehomes have banned all non-essential visiting. Any potential visitors have to phone ahead and make arrangements and the jist is that will only be arranged in 'urgent' cases, which sounds like end of life visiting.

They are being absolutely ridiculous.
Its illegal.