Return to workplace - told to lie about covid protection measures.

[Chompiemompie]

I started a new job during past 6 months and manage a team. Everyone was working from home remotely but from Monday everyone has to be back into the office.
Guidance has been issued to managers to prepare and reassure staff.
This is where the problems is for me.

So much of what they say is happening to make it covid secure simply isn't.

Guidance says that
Extra cleaning will happen throughout the day - it won't.
The ventilation system has been checked for fresh air- it hasn't been checked and won't be. It is a system that recirculates air and there is no fresh air.
Open all windows - we can't as windows don't open at all any on the whole floor of building.
Open all doors to small 1-1 rooms - we can't as confidential support meetings need to take place. These rooms have no windows that open and no ventilation.
Desks will have screens around them - only 1/3rd of desks currently have these and there won't be any more ordered.
Doors to lift / public areas to be kept open to create- there is a security risk given our service users so they will be shut.
Tiolet areas will be cleaned more often - they won't. (they are v small with 3 cubicles to 25 women and currently only 1 person allowed into Tiolet area at a time as no windows or ventilation but from Monday, all 3 cubicles can be used)
Adequate number of smaller air purifiers have been installed following assessment of air flow - there is 3 for the whole floor and were just set where an admin thought they could be hidden out of sight eg under desks in corners.

I questioned all this and was told that my job was to get them back in and if necessary lie to them.

I am v uncomfortable with this and told senior management this. No response all day.
Wwyd

I'd keep quiet. After all they'll find out soon enough once they're back in the office. Then you'll have something to go to the manager with.

Or just tell your manager you're not prepared to lie.

It all sounds incredibly extreme tbh. I've been back in the office since last August, approx 20 staff and our office follows none of these rules.

It's really not that dangerous out there OP. Life has to get back to normal. Don't forget for the vast majority of people this is a mild illness only

I wonder how many of the workforce are sticking rigidly to Covid guidance? Are they going out to pubs, restaurants and seeing lots of people? Have they been on holidays? I have some friends are that are very concerned about the return to the workplace but have no qualms about socialising, gigs and festivals even holidays abroad are ok but somehow not sitting well spaced out from others in a large well organised and ventilated office that's far too risky

My team and others have asked questions about these aspects and I took them to management. That is when I have been told to lie. Staff already know this, put it in writing to me.

@whyevencare - it may seem extreme to you but these measures are based on external guidance. Not all my staff share your views and the decisions your employer reached. Especially as some of their friends and family were very seriously ill and some of the team have had relatives, friends and service users die of covid.
They have concerns given the situation in our office and I think they are entitled to have honest answers to questions raised due to what they know is blatant lies. They know the wi diws can't be opened as do management so why put it into guidance in the first place?

The fact that I am being told to lie is a huge issue for me.

@silverglitterbaubles - my own team have been very stringent with the rules due to their own circumstances. I have not socialised, gone to gigs, had holidays etc due to health reasons and that one of my children has a health condition too.

There is really only the working safely guidance available on the .gov website, depending on the setting there is different advice. A lot of the social distancing measures have gone in favour of twice weekly asymptomatic lateral flow testing and encouraging vaccination.

One way to get work to think differently might be business continuity, if you get all staff in and one has covid - it could easily spread round the office and the whole lot could come down with it, so try different seating plans so that the work isn't scuppered.

You shouldn't have to lie. I think that workplaces are now making their own safety guidelines, mine dropped all the Covid safety measures in April (including masks - factory) I don't think there are any mandatory rules any more although I could be wrong.

I wouldn't lie. If the lie ends up coming back to haunt your employer, it sounds like senior management will be quite happy to drop you in it and deny that they told you to lie. For most of the measures, it would in any event be very obvious that you had lied (eg staff will be able to see for themselves how many desks have screens). In the longer term, does the behaviour of senior management suggest you should be looking for another job?

Do you have a union?

Seek the HSEs advice or that of a union.

What would happen if you were to phone all your team and ask them to work from home on Monday? As some clarification of arrangements needs to be made.

Don’t lie. It’s unfair on any employee that has significant medical conditions or lives with someone who does. The bosses should be seeking legal and occupational health guidance if employees are raising questions like these. Otherwise they may have a lawsuit on their plate.

@Whyevencare it is not extreme at all. Remember 100 people have died from Covid in the last 24 hours. Even the Prime Minister acknowledges Covid is still with us.

A business that has managed with wfh for 18 months can manage to bring people back in smaller numbers, say 1 or 2 days per week, which reduces the risk of spreading infection greatly.

But since you are their manager, surely some of these responsibilities fall unto you? So with the extra cleaning, what steps are you doing to ensure your team is safe? I've worked as a teacher throughout the pandemic and done the whole toys in Dettol, cleaning desks, touch points etc etc, the headteacher has been cleaning the loos every lunch break as an extra since March 2020. None of it is in my or his job description but we just got on with it. (Even though fomite transmission is now pretty much decided as a low cause). I've held parent meetings in the school garden, outside the school gate, or phoned them, no need for any office. You need to be more pro active in how you will manage it from Monday, and it might be as simple as saying that you'll carry on using the toilet one at a time.

Sounds like some people don’t want a reason not to go back to the office…

Call Environmental Health anonymously and get them to come out to see if it’s Covid safe .

Profpropsagle - there is a limit to what I can do.
My team is only one part of the open plan floor and I can't control air flow, ventilation system, non opening windows, desk screens and air purifier purchase etc and I don't manage the facilities such as the cleaning contract. I have no problem whatsoever in cleaning touch points and happily did that and much more in previous job. If the organisational were honest and said exactly what checks and measures had / hadn't taken place then I wouldn't have such as issue but I am expected to lie in response to staff questiknd
I have ensured all desks have sanitiser and wipes etc.
Rearrangement of desks and chairs etc is not possible as there is minimal space and the organisation gave up a lease for additional floors in building so more people are now in this space than ever before.

I am not allowed to change the policies around toilets etc
I suggested that on Monday my staff wfh but was told no, every person must be in the office and wfh has ended. I also suggested staggered / phased return but td no, this is the way it is to be.

I put concerns into the risk register re potential for large numbers having to be off and reflected that 2 months ago 3 people contracted it after having a meeting in one of the smaller with a service user who tested positive. There has been no management response.

It is clear my level of management has little influence upwards and other managers and teams share my teams concerns but as yet, these have not been taken to senior level.

Manymaybes - how very cynical! That really is not the case at all. They want to come back with some reservations and want assurances that the organisation has done what it said it would.

That will pretty much be our office from Monday. My understanding is that come Monday there are no rules, we are not even being asked to do the LFT. I'm not sure EH would be able to do anything.

Please don’t lie.

I’ve got an extremely vulnerable spouse. He does not have immunity and if he catches Covid he will probably die. Thankfully both our employers have made it clear neither one of us needs to come to the office indefinitely. If I were one of your employees though and was desperate to keep my job and to keep my spouse safe and made the difficult decision to come in, showing up and seeing that the screens were a lie, that doors aren’t propped open, etc would be devastating. Basically I would never trust the company again with regards to safety or really anything.

Most people aren’t facing extreme circumstances like mine, but the erosion of employee trust should not be discounted. If they persist with this plan, they will lose staff in the long run.

You could say "Mr Bigboss tells me that, starting on Monday, the following changes will be made:....."

You'll cope the same way that supermarket workers, teachers, healthcare workers, police etc have had to this past year. It's interesting for me in my line of work learning how anxious people have become about having to slowly get back to normal. I'm sure we'll be studying the psychological impact of this pandemic for years to come and I'm pretty sure media hysteria is going to play a big part in the reasons why peoples behaviour has been influenced.

@Waxonwaxoff0

You shouldn't have to lie. I think that workplaces are now making their own safety guidelines, mine dropped all the Covid safety measures in April (including masks - factory) I don't think there are any mandatory rules any more although I could be wrong.

There is very clear guidance still

All the guidance to industry, care & school settings is to keep measures in place as much as possible: to try stop the spread.

All the best op

It is out with your scope or anyone else’s to evaluate the effectiveness of their Covid policies so I wouldn’t bother challenging that. The real issue is that they have said they are doing things to protect their staff that they aren’t and when you have raised this they have told you to lie. It is worth reminding them that you have a duty of care to people reporting to you to give them correct information regarding what is happening in the office with regards to health and safety so given that they are unable to confirm these measures are/will be in place they should be removed from whatever communication has been provided. You also have a duty of care to your employer regarding health and safety and rising these points is to protect them as well from a potential claim of not complying with their own policies.