Can employee refuse to come to work

[NameChange1998]

I own a small veterinary practice. 6 employees including myself (Me, one vet, one nurse, one admin, one receptionist, one receptionist/ lay nurse). Employee in question is our vet nurse.

We have to stay open to see urgent cases. We've also now been told we can do some vaccinations.

Employee in question is saying she's not willing to "put her life at risk" by allowing clients on the premises.

She's a key member of staff and can't furlough her.

Can she refuse to come to work?

She has no health conditions and lives alone. She isn't responsible for any others.

She's making me feel unreasonable by expecting her to come to work. We're doing everything we can with regards to social distancing and keeping clients outside. But sometimes they have to come inside.

Just wondering what others thought and perhaps my stress about paying the bills and keeping the place going is stopping me being reasonable.

It’s not necessarily misconduct. If a dismissal were to be fair, it would probably have to be for ‘some other substantial reason’ (section 98 employment rights act) - your ‘substantial reason’ for dismissal would be your need to run an effective emergency service during the pandemic.

You would have to be 100% in the right vis a vis the safety protection you provide Nd your need for her services and sit her down and give her the best chance to understand why she needs to come to work and the risk of dismissal, exploring and eliminating any alternatives eg unpaid leave, you’d need to give her another proper chance to come to work and if you dismissed her, you would need to pay her full contractual notice.

If I were her, however, I would stay away from work for health reasons at this stage eg stress and anxiety. This would make your position significantly more complicated.

Would you consider not allowing clients into the practice? This is what our practice are doing. Euthanasias are done either without client present or via a v long drip line in the car. Not nice but these are desperate times. I understand many other practices are doing similar.

@Imboredinthehouse your employer is within their rights to tell you when you can take your paid annual leave. So they can do that, I believe.
I work in general practice and have taken annual leave voluntarily when we've been really quiet these last few weeks, but I can usually find work to do if I really try! I would be annoyed at having to take it all now, as I'd like an actual holiday before next April, but I don't mind taking the odd day.

Not a day off sick in 14 years?

Then yes I think its highly likely she'll be able to get signed off.

She is coming into work but moaning about it from what I understand.

Yes she's anxious understandably but then so are all of us whether working or not. She has no right to be furloughed so if she doesn't turn up she's on unauthorised unpaid.
She may throw C-19 symptoms at you to get the 14 day SSP payment but if she can't survive on 80% of her wage, she won't be able to survive on SSP so doubt she'll do that.
She has a duty of care to her clients, in this case, animals. She has sufficient PPE and as long as no unnecessary risks are being taken she's being unreasonable.

Ok OP - your business is at stake here.

So approach it professionally and with that in mind.

Sit her down (from afar!) and say that you completely empathise and take on board her concerns.

Assure her that if and when a client needs to enter the premises they will be required to wash their hands immediately. She can then exit the room and wait until the client has left the room.

If she is a decent employee you don’t want to lose her
If she’s not that decent but you need her to keep the business going

Then you need to play ball

I'm fairly certain as an employer you're still able to contact ACAS and ask for advice.

Personally I think you will need to speak to an employment solicitor to make sure you come up with a constructive legal plan that works for everyone. She can't refuse to come to work and not get paid.

I'm not sure after 14 years if I would want to fairly and constructively fire somebody and not replace them, she might be able to decently argue that her workload was diminished and furlough was appropriate.

This is a minefield and there is a need to tread carefully - but fairly for the sake of all your employees.

She's been there 14 years and never took a day off. She is not doing her full hours but for what you say she is still going to work. Does she leave early or is everyone in the same boat?

I would explain that the job is there and needs to be done. She can have unpaid leave, take all the holidays for a break, or come to work and have a section /corner for herself way beyond the 2m distance rule from the place where all those difficult conversations might take place, so she is not within a 2m distance of any customer. I do not think this is the time for firing people who might be overly anxious and just not behaving their normal selves. This person has not taken the mickey ever before, it is not customary. All she has done is moan and so far. I would give her the benefit of the doubt and consider that she might be struggling mentally.

Pets cannot transmit back to human, apparently?

she is turning up for work but she's moaning about it

In that case I'd just explain to her that you've looked into all the rules very carefully and unfortunately in this case furlough is not an option. Then deal with the moaning separately as a disciplinary issue if needs be.

Furlough would not apply here.

Yes. She can sign herself off as unfit to work due to anxiety and stress for a week, and then it would be up to her GP if they wanted to sign her off beyond this.

I totally understand the position this puts you in OP but you must have a contingency plan for what happens if a key member of staff is off sick - agency staff?

You say this person is usually super reliable and flexible - rolls her sleeves up etc. It could be that she is experiencing acute anxiety over this and is therefore unfit to work.

Given her length of service etc it would be very foolish to sack her.

She's coming to work and moaning. Let her moan!

She's coming to work and moaning. Let her moan!

It's just I could tell she was gearing up today to say she can't come in. I just wanted to be ready if/when that happened and hopefully head her off with such an idea.

There’s going to be such a nasty mess up ahead when employees or their families start suing employers that forced them to be in a position where they then caught Coronavirus and suffered lasting effects or died.

That’s not a direct comment on OP’s situation, which is tricky, but on how vulnerable employers now are just by asking employees to come to work.

That’s not a direct comment on OP’s situation, which is tricky, but on how vulnerable employers now are just by asking employees to come to work.

I think the number of people who want to go to work, outnumbers the people that don't. I know of colleagues who have husbands and wives not working and are desperate to get back.

There are several self employed where I live have started back this week. I overheard one talking to their next door neighbour and he said whilst he wanted to earn, he also wants to actually be out there and doing something.

I think the people on MN who say they won't go back until a vaccine is found ( and there are quite a few), aren't representative of the majority of the country.

At my vets people have to hand over their pets on the doorstep and aren’t allowed inside

You obviously can’t furlough

What’s your sick pay policy? She will get signed off.

Wow you sound like an awful person to work for. Yes pets can carry the virus she is not wrong- several has tested positive. Not irrational as you put it. You must therefore provide her with suitable Ppe. She would have a good case for unfair dismissal of you are not doing this.

She is working. She is getting paid. She is moaning. Completely not how your OP read .

Out of interest, how do you know she’d expect you to make up the 20% if you furloughed her? Have you talked to her about why you can’t furlough her and does she understand this?

It sounds as though her anxiety is very genuine, and sick leave might be an option for her? If this happened could you get someone else to cover her work? Because it sounds like her being at work is putting undue pressure on the rest of the team.

Otherwise I would say you should offer her unpaid leave - but it sounds like she wouldn’t be happy with that. Are you sure she fully understands her situation?

You definitely need legal advice.

I'm a key Wien we, we are all coming into work and moaning but we just have to get on with it don't we? She needs to suck it up or find another job. Simple.

A key worker that should read.

You must therefore provide her with suitable Ppe. She would have a good case for unfair dismissal of you are not doing this.

The OP has said that there is plenty of PPE.

Wow you sound like an awful person to work for. Yes pets can carry the virus she is not wrong- several has tested positive. Not irrational as you put it. You must therefore provide her with suitable Ppe. She would have a good case for unfair dismissal of you are not doing this.

Did you actually read the thread? OP says there is plenty of PPE. The employee still thinks that's not enough. OP sounds like she's trying to keep her business going, doing her best and trying to cope with an irrational employee who thinks she's the one calling hte shots.

'Well vet nurse, there is too much work to furlough you so that is impossible and isn't up for discussion as it just doesn't apply in this case so I'm not prepared to talk about it anymore'

'I know it's a scary time for all of us, but [reiterate what you have done as a practice to minimise risk, discuss suggestions she has to keep her away from customers, explain it is impossible to keep her away from pets but what she should do is x, y, z]

'If you are that concerned that you don't believe you can come in you have the option to a) use up your holiday entitlement or b) take unpaid leave. No unfortunately it would have to be unpaid as we would need to get someone in to cover your work while you are not here'

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