Employed & shielding have no legal protection

[YorkshireTeacake]

Can't believe this. Am fuming. There is no legal protection in place for the shielding who are employed.

The 50 page guidelines just some best practice tips for employers, but none of it is mandatory.

So you could legally sack someone who is shielding.

Unbelievable.

I am extremely disappointed to see this.

There should be arrangements to furlough indefinitely the shielded, with right of return when it become safe to return to workplace.plus priority for internal reassignment to a long term WFH position wherever possible.

It's disgusting they didn't make furlough mandatory for shielded workers. They are the biggest losers in this mess as they've lost their wages since mid-March and now face financial difficulties as benefits are nowhere near the same amount as a full time wage.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/how-citizens-advice-works/media/press-releases/vulnerable-workers-must-be-protected-in-roadmap-out-of-lockdown/

I've been wanting to see some official guidance on this.

I'm shielded currently and have just been talking to some colleagues of mine about it. We are seriously considering going back to work because we can't afford to just stop working. This is so wrong.

I'm considering going back to work at the end of June as that's when my savings will run out and my mortgage holiday will finish.

I'm shielded and we are shielding as a family.

I can't realistically stay apart from dcs and dh for months on end, as recommended.

They all need me and I need them.

If I have a good chance of dying (according to the letters and texts regularly arriving) if I get this virus I don't want them to remember our last year with mum hiding out in the spare room.

However when dcs have to go to school, uni and dh has to go into work shielding is no longer really shielding, just being careful when they come in to strip off, wash etc.

So at that point I will probably just have to go to work and take my chances with everyone else.

Im sure a huge percent of the shielders will be in the same boat.

A lot of the government coverage of shielding seems to mix up the elderly, the vulnerable and the shielded.

I'm probably being sensitive but it also comes across as generally patronising too.

'Find a nice view from your window, do some sudoku...'

There also seems to be a huge assumption, from government and the public, that all shielded people are either retired or not working. How many of us were, until March, living completely normal lives - working, going out etc?

Wow, that’s ridiculous. @VaTeLaverLesMains I hate that ‘advice’ too. As if we don’t have other things going on such as working from home and/or childcare/home educating.

What do we think will happen? Can employers just sack us now? I’m on a fixed term contract so precarious as it is.

A lot of the government coverage of shielding seems to mix up the elderly, the vulnerable and the shielded

Agree, I despair when I see yet again a question about shielding and the answer starts with advice for the over 70s

It's very worrying to read this. Before all this lockdown, I was employed with a good job etc. Now I'm currently apart from my husband whilst sheilding as he is a key worker and no end in sight. I feel like we as a group are forgotten about. The general population seem to think we're all ill, and not working. That's just not the case. And what happens when schools open, are my children's education going to be affected because they're to stay shielded with me? And when is it safe for me to let them see there father. Too many unanswered questions I feel

@YorkshirePuddingsGreatestFan
There are lots of us who are vulnerable and shielding who can still work from home so that wouldn't be necessary to make it mandatory- as for everybody wfh not easy but doable
It should be that their job rights are protected and furlough given if they cannot wfh.

@VaTeLaverLesMains agree seems to be a lack of info across the board but it does seem to out of their grasp that vulnerable even according to their guidelines doesn't mean old & retired.
For lots of us we are normally working, have kids in schools/ nurseries, live with key workers etc

Absolutely agree with everything said - there's still such a general 'oh well they are all really sick anyway' narrative when it comes to the shielding. This is not to devalue, of course, those of us who are very 'ill', but like a pp said, I was living a normal life till early March and I had a normal life expectancy.

Also completely agree with the patronising nature of some of the advice - 'sit by the window with your sudoku book' and 'make yourself a plan at the start of the week.' I do recognise that it isn't easy and that they don't know what to tell us, but really!?

I feel better just expressing myself on here.

I'm usually being the jolly one on a zoom call, as I don't want to be a hysterical drama llama eyore bringing everyone down.

It's disgusting they didn't make furlough mandatory for shielded workers.

Why? Some of them could WFH.

@kirstinm to be fair there’s been research that has shown planning your day / week can help with your mental health.

Surely the shielded will come under the Disability Discrimination Act?

NoNames do you think so if we're not disabled though?

@wonkylegs unfortunately I can't do my job from home.

Agree with people thinking shielders are all long term sick or old people. I'm perfectly healthy, it's just the drugs that are keeping me healthy make me extremely vulnerable to this virus.

I find the sudoku and look out the window information patronising. Doing a puzzle isn't going to pay my mortgage.

I've also been annoyed at MP's saying oh well you can just claim benefits as we've added £20 more to UC. When you only have one salary coming in, it is a massive drop going from a full time wage to benefits only. I'd like to see them try and survive if someone removed a large portion of their salary.

@onemorpringle that's fine (and indeed a useful technique I use at uni) but the language and suggestions given are patronising and also reinforce the idea that most of us can't do very much - lumping us all in one (pretty feeble) basket. Plan to read a book or watch a film on Wednesday? No thanks.

VaTeLaver
I’m not an expert on all the conditions listed under shielding, but my DH is shielding due to cancer treatments. Cancer is listed under the DA. A quick google shows that CF is too. Not saying the others aren’t, but using those 2 as an example, would hope to see all the other shielding categories are covered too.

Yes it’s dreadful.
I’m lucky that I can work from home. Many can’t and are going to have to choose between seriously endangering their health and losing their jobs/screwing their finances.
And frankly they can fuck off with their sudoku and nice views.

Surely the shielded will come under the Disability Discrimination Act

I don’t think we are all disabled e.g if our conditions are well-controlled by medication and we lead normal lives or if we are on the shielding list because our medication puts us at risk.

Surely the shielded will come under the Disability Discrimination Act?

Yes, but if someone can't do their job because of an illness or disability, they can be let go, legally. The employer just has to go through the process of evaluation of whether reasonable adjustments can be made, alternative positions, etc, etc. But ultimately., if a disabled/ill person can't work, then they may well, legally, lose their job. The same will apply to those shielded.

Absolutely agree with everything said - there's still such a general 'oh well they are all really sick anyway' narrative when it comes to the shielding. This is not to devalue, of course, those of us who are very 'ill', but like a pp said, I was living a normal life till early March and I had a normal life expectancy.

Likewise, one of our neighbours was a clinical lead hospital consultant who is now "shielding" due to a health condition and has left a very big hole in his hospital department!