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 dont understand why people who cant work from home because of the nature of their job (teachers mostly) are berating people who can continue to work from home. It doesn't affect you so wind your neck in.

However OP, the measures in place in your office sound the same as mine and if your employer wants you in then you need to go in realistically. I don't think you will be able to sue them if you got covid as you could have picked it up anywhere. Your fear that it covid will rip through the building is unlikely to happen. I have been working in an office as you describe since September and any isolated cases of covid (2 or 3 i think) have not resulted in transmission to other staff at all.

WFH would be beneficial in terms of transport and pollution, that is obvious. It would be negative in the short term for city centre support jobs, that is also obvious.

Get back to work!

I didn't want to go in the week we got locked down back in March, I was scared to death, but guess what...I had to

Someone literally posted it upthread about how WFH makes it safer for people who can't WFH. Well yes, in terms of Covid it does.

How do people still not understand that lower transmission = better for everyone? A nurse, a shop worker, a teacher, a factory worker are all better off in an area with 50 cases per 100,000 than an area with 150 cases per 100,000. WFH is one aspect that helps keep cases low.

This isn't a class war ffs, it is juts mathematical reality of a virus.

It is this reality about wfh that is the reason why the government intends not to order people back to the office.

Get back to work!,,

But have people been wfh successfully? My personal experience is services have declined. For example last week I needed to report an issue to a water company. I rang and automatically the message told me ‘extremely large queues due to Covid’.

Pollution is less obvious, WFH is inefficient because every home is heated all day during winter. Compare that to one office block being heated.

No one's berating anyone. The OPs office sounds far more covid safe than a lot of work places.

@motherrunner

But have people been wfh successfully? My personal experience is services have declined. For example last week I needed to report an issue to a water company. I rang and automatically the message told me ‘extremely large queues due to Covid’.

That is not necessarily anything to do with WFH itself.

My workload has increased due to Covid, so reponse times are slower.

You can't just assume any issue is due to WFH, that is your bias. I do not know what pressures are on the water company, but you shouldn't assume it is because the admin team are answering calls at home.

If I were to guess, I would say they have a backlog of work as people have to self-isolate etc and so have fewer staff on the ground. The engineers are not WFH anyway.

You’re being precious, OP.

I say this as someone whose office has been officially shut since the start of the pandemic and STILL haven’t given us a CLUE on how they are planning on opening, if at all, whether it’ll be flexible or not etc

Get back to the office or find another job.

@ ThatsMeInTheCornerThere - those WFH are in work (and are often working longer hours overall than before). The clue is in the W of WFH.

Personally, I am looking forward to a return to the office, but I don’t tell other people (knowing little of their situation) ‘get back to work!’ as if they were an extra from On the Buses and I was Blakey.

Its a difficult one.

I don't think employers always want people to go back because when isn't successful. Some companies just have the view that they don't like it.

Some companies have decided its great.

I don't think there's much value in berating the OP because other people have had to work outside the home. It reminds me of the threads where the furloughed and non furloughed would go at it about whose got it worse. The op isn't in the position that she had to work outside the home and is allowed to have concerns.

Right now, given the extention of some restrictions, which includes work from him when you can I think its daft to send people back who don't need to.

And actually, our HR team and legal Team are looking into what happens if they force people back, that don't need to be and there's an outbreak and someone gets very sick or worse.

We had an outbreak before the first lockdown, I caught it then too. It caused lots of problems because many were to sick to work. So, it's not just 'what responsibility will employers have' it's what happens if whole teams are off sick.

And it could be cause of some issues down the line, of people struggle to recover.

I think if your employer says you have to rent then you

Oh heaven forbid you have to work with 10 others and use a toilet after someone. Kids literally sneeze in my face at work.

Oops that you say if your employer says you should return then you will have too however lots of companies are happy to continue working from home so there may be an opportunity to move jobs.

My manager and I are getting far more work done at home.

I think OP you can ask for your workplace to be as Covid secure as possible. The kitchen being a free for all does not sound good. There could be a protocol for using it. Put a disinfectant spray in the toilets.
If you have dc they'll probably be isolating soon anyway and you can wfh again for a while.

You ask a good question op. I know my company is very concerned about the possibility of being sued if they don't have appropriate SD measures in place in the office.

I've worked in healthcare from the outset but I do feel for people who have been wfh and have lost the confidence to mix and who fear of Covid is causing them anxiety. Those of us who have worked right through have had to face that fear, and it's easy to forget that we were really scared at the outset. As other posters have said we now have to live with this virus.

I think also the companies with excellent sick pay and pensions have a lot to lose from people getting ill and being unable to work.

The reality is many people are treated like shit by their workplaces and those workplaces can just get rid of their staff get ill. With a good employer, they have to give a lot of money to unwell employees - so it is worth keeping staff well.

@Waxonwaxoff0

Yeah I said that. And it's true.

I dont wfh but surely anyone who does is creating less risk for those of us that can't.

I like to think of it that was or I'll get all bitter and twisted.

@helpmebeanadult

Going against the grain here OP, but I see your point. The guidance is to wfh where possible and employers that go against this are wrong. Wfh protects those that can't wfh and those that can.

It also protects front line workers with quieter public transport.

Your employer just has to put a notice up saying no more than whatever in the kitchen at a time. I have colleagues who choose not to use the kitchen and use flasks.

Either go back to work or find a job that suits you. We need to get back to normal.

I suppose if you've been WFH for 15 months then the thought of going back into the office is very scary.
The company should be taking all the measures to be covid safe so you need to flag your concerns up with them

Let's be honest - people want to stay WFH because it's convenient to them and allows them to do things like the school run or stay in bed an hour longer.

Nobody is going to believe Jane at the local office isn't personally choosing to work from home in order to make things safer for Joe at Tesco.

@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!

This