Office rules now things are “back to normal”

[Whathefisgoingon]

I have been on leave from work for a week and I have just been told that my seating arrangement has been changed and I have gone from being sat alone to directly next to 2 other staff with no social distancing or screens between us.

I am CEV and the company refused to let me wfh even though the job can he done at home easily.

My blood is boiling at the complete lack of care for my health. Am I being unreasonable?

They are ridiculous but I suppose they are within the law.

Yep similar sudden change in rules for us too. Seating as pre-covid, all open plan and sharing of desks.

I'm really anxious as work on reception for a university and will have thousands of students back on campus soon too. No SD, screens or masks. Huge number of international students just off the plane.

I totally appreciate that students need a normal experience this year but will be a hotbed for any new variants.

Seriously thinking of leaving

Ask for a risk assessment/occupational health

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/emp-law/health-safety/supporting-shielding-employees#gref

Yep, pretty much back to normal at my office.

My workplace is shifting TO hotdesking, with the same spacing between desks as pre covid, but now switching desks and neighbours each day. Which of course will cause illnesses to spread further and faster.

All that covid flex work talk has also died rapidly. Back to the office! 5 days!

You couldn't make it up really. 🤣 🤨

I bet the doctors would sign you off for stress, not that I would recommend it.

I second the request for a risk assessment.

If you have a disability you can ask for reasonable adjustments made and risk assessment to keep you safe.

@NotMyCat Can I ask what you mean? This isn’t my area of expertise. I’ve read the risk assesment, which was completed months ago before lockdown was lifted. What can I do now? Where do I stand?

Do you have an occupational health department?

There's a few key bits in that link

If a vulnerable employee hesitates about returning, based on the health risks, employers should show caution and may need to take occupational health or legal advice. Partial or full home working may be a possibility.

government advice given on 19 July 2021 mentions this which confirms that vulnerable employees should be given special consideration when returning to work, on a full or hybrid basis which may involve additional precautions and adjusting working arrangements.
The adjustments could include potentially allowing homeworking or transferring to another role in a lower-risk area. A request for continued home working is likely to fall within the requests for flexible working legislation and count as a reasonable adjustment for those who qualify under the Equality Act disability provisions.

My work is a bit different because it's quite.. easy going. So I basically said "how is this safe for me?" And my boss went "er. Actually it's probably not. Stay at home. Occupational health can assess it if needed"
It's helping my argument that people on other sites are dropping like flies with covid and I pointed out if I was at home and not unwell, I could work when everyone else was off sick/isolating

@NotMyCat Nope, we’ve got 1 HR person for a team of about 70, nothing else at all. They have repeatedly banged on about the office being “covid secure” and how they are “following the guidance & law” so I have no idea how I’d bring this up.

I’m feeling really uncomfortable about going in. It’ll be an argument for sure.

Can they force me to take my mask off? Currently we are told not to wear it whilst seated at our desks.

The guidance is so woolly now. We're fully masked and expected to follow 2m distancing in the office and in the factory. Our H&S department has interpreted the risk and put these rules in place. DH is completely back to normal - similar set up but in a smaller office. I'd prefer to work on his office, if I'm honest. I'm ready to go back to normal but I haven't been able to WFH at all.
If you don't feel safe, you can either leave or mitigate your own risk - mask, sanitiser, regular LFT.

Where do I stand?

Nowhere. Welcome to the world that medics, school staff and supermarket workers have been in for the last 18 months. You'll find that the risk assessment means eff all.

If you don't feel safe, you can either leave or mitigate your own risk - mask, sanitiser, regular LFT.

That's the only answer.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot Can they force me to take my mask off whilst seated & using the phone?

OP you might find this useful from the Health and Safety Executive: www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/index.htm In particular the section "Vulnerable workers. Make sure you consider the risk to workers who are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus and put controls in place to reduce that risk." Protect vulnerable workers www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/protect-people.htm

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot to be fair medics, school staff and supermarket workers were all protected by the shielding guidelines if they were CEV and weren't at work (or they didn't have to be)
I don't think a bit of empathy for people who have things like cancer, aren't protected by vaccines and are now having to go back with no covid measures goes amiss

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

Where do I stand?

Nowhere. Welcome to the world that medics, school staff and supermarket workers have been in for the last 18 months. You'll find that the risk assessment means eff all.

If you don't feel safe, you can either leave or mitigate your own risk - mask, sanitiser, regular LFT.

That's the only answer.

All that is not true. CEV keyworkers have been shielding.

OP, your employer has a duty to keep you safe at work. I hope you can find a solution that meets your needs as well as the needs of the organisation.

If you don't feel safe, you can either leave or mitigate your own risk - mask, sanitiser, regular LFT.
The OP doing regular LFTs doesn't mitigate her risk in any way, only the risk that the OP poses to others, which is not the issue here. And how does sanitiser mitigate the risk of an airborne virus? The notion that touching surfaces is a major source of transmission has been pretty much discredited. And query how much a mask mitigates the risk if the OP is at work all day?

OP , could you ask for a formal meeting with your manager to discuss your concerns? If you have genuinely been doing your job just as well at home, the issue may be that your employer doesn't want to set a precedent re working from home. I think you really need to emphasise the point that you are CEV. If you get nowhere with a meeting, might be worth getting some advice from a specialist employment lawyer if you can afford that.

The law changing to guidance hasn’t removed the need for employers to make work safe. It doesn’t mean that every employer needs to keep all the same rules in place, but it would be very risky for them to force a vulnerable staff member into proximity to others with no protection while numbers are so high in the community.

OP, I would suggest you put your request for a meeting in writing and include reference to the fact that you are CEV. Knowing that there is written proof that you have requested mitigation measures and notified your employer of your vulnerability may prompt them to take your request more seriously. If they start using meaningless phrases such as claiming the office is "Covid secure", turn the question back on them by asking what they mean by the term "Covid secure".

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

Where do I stand?

Nowhere. Welcome to the world that medics, school staff and supermarket workers have been in for the last 18 months. You'll find that the risk assessment means eff all.

If you don't feel safe, you can either leave or mitigate your own risk - mask, sanitiser, regular LFT.

That's the only answer.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot You’re comparing apples and oranges because OP is CEV. Prior to now, CEV front line workers had options; redeployment, furlough, amended duties or SSP.

I think you may find the same issues we had in schools. You can ask for risk assessments but, ultimately, we are back to normal (and I don’t think - although I could be wrong- that people have been officially shielding since April/May). Let them know you were CEV but I think they can assume that you are vaccinated and thereby not at risk of severe illness anymore. The workplace will therefore be safe. If the vaccine isn’t effective for you, let them know as that may affect what they will provide.

If you ask for things which don’t impact the business, they will probably be quite sympathetic. I can’t imagine they will mind you wearing a mask and might even find you a space by a window, for example. It’s pretty scary but to the government, Covid is ‘done’.

But CEV key workers haven't been shielding, not for a long time. We were told by Mumsnet to stop being ridiculous and make way for those willing to take the risks. Perhaps now that other workers are in the same situation there will be a little compassion for what we've dealt with this year.

All that is not true. CEV keyworkers have been shielding

Nope-certainly not in schools, for a very long time. They have been back as normal for ages. Are you double vaccinated?