Pressured to return to office but cases rising locally. Where is their duty of care?

[Nutsoh]

Despite WFH successfully since last March we’ve been told over the past few weeks that our offices now have to be manned to 50% in a bid to transition back to full occupancy.

Some managers have turned the thumbscrews on their teams to —force— encourage part of their departments back, they’ve pushed the teams that have a lot of static equipment back in FT and allowed those with laptops the benefit of coming and going when they please with their laptops.

Despite the 2m rule we are allowed to sit in the office, anything up to 10 of us without masks, just needing to put masks on to walk around. There is a one way system but the kitchen is a free for all and you can go into the toilet right after someone else has just used it even though ventilation is poor.

So, I didnt have too much of an issue with this but cases are now rising locally and I feel it’s only a matter of time that it’s going to go through the office. We’ve all had at least one jab but I’m starting to feel a little anxious about someone getting it and it running through the whole building.

So, from a duty of care POV, if someone gets Covid through work and it leaves them seriously I’ll or with long Covid where does that leave the company legally seeing as they’ve more or less forced people back in despite the guidance still being to WFH if you can.

Can people take action against their company if this happens?

I find it quite strange that on the day I see a thread about “husband doesn’t want to stop WFH but I want him to”, most responses I’ve seen are supporting him not wanting to hotdesk etc, yet most here seem to be telling this woman to suck it up and get back to work!
I don’t want to be permanently in work & I don’t see why most of us need to; our office has proved 90% of our work can be done from home & we’ve done it successfully with no detriment to the job and a lot of benefit to the staff.
Yes, my bills may have gone up a little over winter but I’ve saved a fortune in buses and time which more than compensates & gives a much better work/life balance.
If the job has been done properly there is no need at all for employers to force staff to be back in the office all the time, unless they are saying they don’t trust them at all. Let’s be honest, as all my work is done by pc, it would be incredibly easy for any employer in that situation to see who’s been working & who’s been skiving over the past 18 months.
Time to reduce office space & costs and let people have a choice.

I work in a large secondary school with hundreds of children who haven't been vaccinated, so I have little sympathy tbh.

Has the work from home where possible guidance changed?

Get back to work. Nurses have worked, care home staff have worked, dustmen have worked the people on the checkouts have worked, delivery drivers have worked my husband has worked in his factory. Some people just dont want to go back to work.

Op is working and doesn't do any of those jobs so it entirely irrelevant.

So what if people would rather sit at a desk at her house, over sitting at a desk in an office?

Her returning to office doesn't make nhs workers lives better, or bin men or checkout staff.

Its like me moaning that I have to travel to work and saying its not fair because checkout staff don't have to.

@Youneverknowwhatyourgonnaget

You are being ridiculous and are contributing to this madness continuing! There is a vaccine and just about all the vulnerable who want it have been given both doses. Your attitude is selfish the country is on it knees and just because you are happy working in your happy home we need the country to get back to normal! The economy NEEDS people to get back to work the fact this has gone on for so long after after such a successful vaccination program is pathetic!! I wonder if you are happy to go for dinner? Go shopping go to your friends? Utterly self absorbed and selfish!

You are the one being ridiculous. If OP working at home is not having a negative impact on the business then she is not selfish at all to not want to go back to work. By working at home she is reducing the spread and ultimately that will save lives because not everyone who is vulnerable has been vaccinated and even if they were it doesn't work on everyone.

Maybe they are "crying unsafe" because it is unsafe.

If you haven’t been fully vaccinated at this point it’s because your risk of being seriously affected is tiny.

Honestly, when does this end? No wonder employers are leading the charge back to the office now, some clearly won’t ever ‘feel safe’”

@Youneverknowwhatyourgonnaget

Maybe they are "crying unsafe" because it is unsafe. Why should people "suck it up" if it means their health and perhaps lives are at risk and the business has no good reason for making them go in the office?

Why is it unsafe if they have been vaccinated?? Honestly explain because the virus was extremely mild to most before a vaccine so now it is literally a cold!! The overreaction is unbelievable!!

Just because someone has been vaccinated it doesn't mean that there is no chance of severe covid. It doesn't work on everyone.

Honestly, when does this end? No wonder employers are leading the charge back to the office now, some clearly won’t ever ‘feel safe’

Maybe lots won't.

Its been known since the start that people's mental health would be impacted. I, expect lots of people will have genuine health anxiety.

So should people with anxiety just be sacked?

Belladonna12 you are being ridiculous! There is risk in every single thing we do in life there are 100’s of illnesses we can get and trust me covid is no where near the top of things we should be hiding away from! You obviously must listen to bbc news where they report on Covid being like the plague but instead of hearing about the handful of daily deaths of covid maybe you want to look up deaths from other reasons! The op is being pathetic and she has options go to work or get a new job!

Just because someone has been vaccinated it doesn't mean that there is no chance of severe covid. It doesn't work on everyone.

So what? Everyone stays at home forever and the economy implodes? Great.

If wfh is so important to people, then they should switch jobs to a permanent wfh role.

My heart bleeds…. I’ve worked with the public throughout!

@Wellbythebloodyhell

Suck it up buttercup some have been working in such "conditions " and in many cases worse conditions all the way through. Welcome to reality!

Agreed, me too for nearly all of it. Basically if you don't like it OP look for a job that allows you to WFH.

So should people with anxiety just be sacked?

I doubt businesses can afford to carry them. Just as those in front line jobs couldn’t all be accommodated if they had anxiety either.

They signed a contract that included working from an office. If they don’t want to do that, they need to look for something else.

They signed a contract that included working from an office. If they don’t want to do that, they need to look for something else.

So people who develop mental health problems shouldn't have accommodations made. They should leave.

What about physical disabilities? Do you think they shouldn't have accommodation made either?

So people who develop mental health problems shouldn't have accommodations made. They should leave.

Where would we be if all our doctors, nurses, teachers, police, food production workers decided they needed ‘accommodations made’ for their anxiety. Honestly, read the room, public sympathy is limited.

Unless you have not been out at all and have been shielding then I don't see the problem going back to work. You have to take what precautions you feel can make you safe. If that means wearing a mask, having only 2 people allowed in the kitchen etc which is what we have to do at work. So many people want the convenience of working from home but are still happy to go shopping or on holiday. I'm sure one you're back and make some office rules things will be fine

I see your point OP, and the posters who keep going on about some people have been working throughout-so has the OP and millions of others who have WFH whilst home schooling etc.

I wish they would really push the WFH if you can put a lot longer. It’s really cut down on traffic, don’t have the stress of office politics.
But I have missed the interaction,

There’s no need to be in the office all the time though, the less this spreads the less chance it has to mutate which I think is the main worry, even vaccinated people can contribute to this
We are being allowed to do 50:50 which I think is a good mix.

Where would we be if all our doctors, nurses, teachers, police, food production workers decided they needed ‘accommodations made’ for their anxiety. Honestly, read the room, public sympathy is limited.

They are doing and it's very concerning. But the op doesn't do those jobs. The ops employer doesn't have the same struggles as the NHS or police force. They aren't employing her in that role.

I can't believe you are for real. You seriously think employers should get rid of people experienced in their job because they developed mental health problems. Rather than try and support them?

That's the most abelist crap I have heard someone openly say.

@Youneverknowwhatyourgonnaget

Belladonna12 you are being ridiculous! There is risk in every single thing we do in life there are 100’s of illnesses we can get and trust me covid is no where near the top of things we should be hiding away from! You obviously must listen to bbc news where they report on Covid being like the plague but instead of hearing about the handful of daily deaths of covid maybe you want to look up deaths from other reasons! The op is being pathetic and she has options go to work or get a new job!

What other infectious disease should people be "hiding away from inthe UK then? It's not "pathetic" to not want to catch and spread covid. Many people still aren't vaccinated and this variant is very infectious. What advantage is it to you if OP goes to work in an office apart from the fact that it will make you feel less jealous.

Office staff have been bloody lucky if you ask me, warehouses and delivery havnt stopped, neither have supermarket staff and the majority are on a crap wage too.
I was retail, what is the difference between an office worker and a shop assistant?
Hundreds of customers ignoring 1 way routes, not washing hands or wearing masks, ignoring social distancing and expecting you to handle all their returns.

Believe it or not I had to tell 1 customer when the shops opened that NO! she couldnt try on a bikini on top of her bra and Take It Off !
Yes your being bloody unresonable and want your eggs and everyone elses, and someone else to carry the basket for you !

@Pinkandpink

IsabellesMissingSock

Why do people keep barking "go back to work" as if OP has just been sitting on her arse chilling for the last 15 months? Do some people not understand what WFH stands for? Strange.

I’m sorry but I think it’s you that’s being rather strange here. You and I both know full well what people mean when they say go back to work. Nobody is suggesting that the op has been sitting on her arse doing nothing. People on here have an knack to twist the tiniest comment round to cause an argument. Fool

😂 I've been wfh since March 2020 and have been working flat out the whole time. Why should I "go back to work"? I can work perfectly fine from home. Luckily, I have an understanding employer who is letting me continue to do just that.

@lazystar

Office staff have been bloody lucky if you ask me, warehouses and delivery havnt stopped, neither have supermarket staff and the majority are on a crap wage too. I was retail, what is the difference between an office worker and a shop assistant? Hundreds of customers ignoring 1 way routes, not washing hands or wearing masks, ignoring social distancing and expecting you to handle all their returns.

Believe it or not I had to tell 1 customer when the shops opened that NO! she couldnt try on a bikini on top of her bra and Take It Off !
Yes your being bloody unresonable and want your eggs and everyone elses, and someone else to carry the basket for you !

So you want OP to go back to work to because you are jealous and want everyone to be at risk because you were. Does it occur to you that you were safer in the shop if customer worked at home and were less likely to be infected as a result.

I was retail, what is the difference between an office worker and a shop assistant?

Theres a huge difference in those jobs roles. Mainly, that most people in an office don't have face to face customer jobs.

It isn't 'unsafe'. If you take the advised precautions and have the vaccine, you will more than likely be fine.

So dramatic to claim being asked to go back to the office after all this time is unsafe.

Hi OP,

We have similar guidelines in our office and I worked from home initially but went back in May when our offices opened.

From what I understand, a hot spot is where more than 3 people get the virus in an office scenario. And companies will have to notify HSE England (if you are in England) and will be fined if companies did not satisfy the guidelines set forth; that is providing a safe environment.
I work for a super global company - and the approach your company has taken it is pretty much the same so looks like they are on par.
Majority of us - have had Atleast one vaccine too. Some of the things we are discouraged from doing is holding meetings (clients are a no no) and internal meetings are restricted to 50% and I think this is more from a business continuity perspective. We can’t have 100% of a team go off sick if they all catch this virus.
I was nervous too about going back and using public transport but I got over. People who didn’t get the virus suffered too bring unemployed and other mental health issues etc so bad to put on my big girl pants and get on with it. My company has done all they can do to keep me safe I am sure yours will too. Speak to someone senior and mention your concerns,
My guess is big companies aren’t going to pay extortionate rents for empty buildings so the WFH train will end at some point. Better go in with a negotiation now rather than when it’s too late! Eg build yourself up slowly - 1 day a week, then 2 etc so it’s not to hard on you mentally.

Right now the advice is to WFH if you can.
However, it’s for the employer not just the employee to decide that.
I’ve accommodated my staff working from home. But has it worked as well? No. And it certainly won’t work at all if my competitors start going back in.

So yeah. At some point I’ll have to have everyone back, unless they can make a good case. Fortunately the majority want to come back.