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Covid

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Original poster

Office not closing

50 replies

DarthVader1 · 04/11/2020 23:20

My wife works at a small firm with about 10 people. Her job can easily be done from home and she worked from home for about 4/5 months with the last lockdown.

However this time, her boss has said that everyone in the office has to continue coming in because the lockdown “doesn’t suit her and she will be lonely”. She is one of those people that also believes that COVID doesn’t exist. There is no issue with productivity, in fact more work was being done because the staff worked longer hours (not forced) but the boss is a bit of a control freak.

The guidelines specifically state that everyone who can work from home must do so. AIBU to report my wife’s firm for not following the guidelines.

OP posts:

wowfudge · 05/11/2020 09:55

Maybe if she knew she could be fined between £1000 and £10000 she'd change her view? Is the office Covid safe, with screens, social distancing, sanitiser, etc? She should also have completed a Covid risk assessment before the staff returned at the end of the last lockdown.

ethelredonagoodday · 05/11/2020 10:05

@Noitjustwontdo yep, same. 🙄

Newnamenewopenme · 05/11/2020 10:18

Perhaps your wifes boss suffers from anxiety and having the staff in helps them cope?

Perhaps his wife suffers with anxiety about the nhs going under as so many people bend the rules to suit themselves.

movingonup20 · 05/11/2020 10:21

Dps had 2 people ask to work from home (they were doing 50/50 to allow for more space) the two least productive who never answer their phones when they wfh. People think they are as productive or more at home but from an employers point of view this isn't the case often. If there's sufficient space in the office then there's no need to wfh basically

BigBadVoodooHat · 05/11/2020 10:29

@nanbread

Is it obviously an office? Could you report seeing lots of people going in and out of a house

Why 'report' people going in and out of a 'house' when that's not what's happening at all.

If they're contravening business guidelines that's the basis for reporting, if so inclined. It would be rather foolish to pretend that you have confused a place of employment with a house and make a fallacious report.

notalwaysalondoner · 05/11/2020 10:33

I think the issue is that is is very hard to prove productivity is identical at home, so an employer can claim that work can’t be done at home quite easily. Our office is staying open but going in is voluntary, I think they were more worried about people’s mental health and especially those living in tiny flats or small shared houses with no work space (we have a lot of new graduates and are in London).

Brefugee · 05/11/2020 10:46

It’s a small firm so there is no union or HR department

it can be a two person firm, anyone can join a union. If they're not recognised in the workplace they can still give you legal advice and have your back in disputes/discussions with your employer.

nosswith · 05/11/2020 11:49

If discussion gets nowhere, then reporting them is reasonable. Though try discussion first not immediately.

Original poster

DarthVader1 · 05/11/2020 18:00

There are no extra measures in the office apart from sanitiser, desks are face to face because no room in the office to have any other way.

All the employees hit their targets for the months in last lockdown so certainly not a productivity issue, in fact there was a lack of work at one point because work was going out faster than it was coming in.

OP posts:

MarjorytheTrashHeap · 05/11/2020 18:06

Given that workplace transmission is so much higher than from retail and hospitality, I can't see this lockdown making much difference if so many workplaces insist on people working from the office. I had to travel in rush hour traffic today (teacher) and there was no difference to the normal level of traffic. Fair enough if there are jobs that cannot be done from home, but those that can work from home should be encouraged by their employers to do so.

yellowcatss · 05/11/2020 18:28

@TigerBrite

My DH’s employer is doing the same. They shut down completely during the last lockdown but now refuse to do so. DH worked at home for 3 months but now they insist that he and everyone else have to be in the office every day. Selfish twats but I don’t see what we can do?

if you dont like the job you can always resign

Original poster

DarthVader1 · 05/11/2020 18:39

@yellowcatss that’s not really the point though is it. My wife enjoys her job, has worked there many years, leaving her job will only mean that someone new will come in who will then have to put themselves and their family at risk for someone else’s profit.

OP posts:

MNHQ

RivkaMumsnet · 05/11/2020 18:39

We are going to move this one to the Covid topic shortly.

ReneeRol · 05/11/2020 18:39

No, you don't report it. Let your wife bring it up with her boss if she wants to. She may want to go into work and be using "boss is making us" as an excuse.

You don't know the requirements of the business. The owner knows her own business and there may be genuine reasons to bring everybody in. If her employees have an issue, that's for them to sort out. Not interfering spouses!

funnylittlefloozie · 05/11/2020 18:42

Oh FGS, just report them. They're taking the piss, so don't deserve such handwringing. Your wife wont be the only one unhappy about not being allowed to WFH, so noone will know it was her.

And tell her to join a union. Unions are NOT workplace-specific, they are there for the benefit of all workers. Unison would probably suit her.

Original poster

DarthVader1 · 05/11/2020 18:43

@ReneeRol my wife is genuinely very upset and been very down, she’s certainly not using the boss as an excuse.

If caring about my wife and wanting to help makes me interfering then so be it.

OP posts:

ReneeRol · 05/11/2020 18:57

You're going to get her fired and nobody's going to want to hire someone whose interfering husband tries to get the business in trouble. This is her workplace, it's not your place to interfere, nobody hired you.

If your wife is upset, she can take it up with the boss herself in an adult, professional and appropriate manner. Not getting her husband to snitch to the authorities. Ffs.

Original poster

DarthVader1 · 05/11/2020 19:12

@ReneeRol obviously I wouldn’t give my or my wife’s name if I reported them so it wouldn’t come back on her. Her boss breaking the rules becomes a family issue when it has the potential of risking my family to the virus.

As I previously posted it is not possible for my wife to speak to her boss in that way, she doesn’t care and doesn’t believe that the virus is real.

Also not sure why you think I’m a man 😂😂.

OP posts:

NotAKaren · 05/11/2020 20:08

This lockdown is nothing like the previous one. I think the WFH message is largely being ignored this time around. Most people I know that have returned to offices are not going to WFH for this lockdown. This is for a variety of reasons but mainly because they actually prefer to be in the office.

ReneeRol · 05/11/2020 20:26

Whether you're a woman or man, your wife is an adult, she needs to deal with her own issues. She's not a child and you're not her parent. Stay out of it.

Employers are entitled to insist employees turn up for work if they have valid reasons and her employer will be able to produce a few.

You don't know that they won't be able to figure out where the report came from. I think it would be fairly obvious - a hostile employee with an overbearing spouse that loves interfering in everything. It's a hobby for some people and we all know who the snitches are in our communities.

Itisasecret · 05/11/2020 20:34

People moan about working in an office but are happy for teachers to be in crowded classrooms all day with PPE?

Workplaces will stay open because schools are. Last time people had no choice but to WFH mainly due to schools being closed. Schools are still open, people can still go to work. Employers will want people on site as they don’t have the issues with childcare.

Most things are open now, dentists, opticians, more shops and yes workplaces which shouldn’t necessarily have shut last time. Hence schools needing to stay open.

I guess people thought they would stay safe working from home or on furlough, with their kids in school whilst everyone else continued working, like the last lockdown.

Original poster

DarthVader1 · 05/11/2020 20:37

@ReneeRol I’m definitely not an overbearing spouse that interferes, don’t know why you have decided to be rude, if you haven’t got anything helpful to add, I suggest not commenting, being a troll is also a hobby.

My wife wants to report her employer, she isn’t happy that no safety measures are in place and guidelines are being ignored. She was talking to me and I posted on here to get some opinions.

OP posts:

Oblomov20 · 05/11/2020 20:41

Hearing about this happening a lot! Tricky. You could say no. You could be out of a job. So tricky!

BarbaraStripeshand · 05/11/2020 20:41

@Toffiffeee89

I work in non essential retail and we arnt closing . Until we find out how this will work I’m unsure how I feel about this . We shut in the last lockdown

How are you allowed to still be open? Surely you'll just end up being closed down?

On saying that, I passed a number of non-essential shops that were still open today.

PrivateD00r · 05/11/2020 21:41

@Itisasecret

People moan about working in an office but are happy for teachers to be in crowded classrooms all day with PPE?

Most things are open now, dentists, opticians, more shops and yes workplaces which shouldn’t necessarily have shut last time. Hence schools needing to stay open.

I guess people thought they would stay safe working from home or on furlough, with their kids in school whilst everyone else continued working, like the last lockdown.

Teachers cannot WFH effectively though, that was proved in the last lockdown. OP says their wife can and did work effectively last time so should be again. No idea why you think she should be in work because school staff are? Makes zero sense. Everyone who can wfh should, this keeps everyone safer who cannot wfh.

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