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 be furious at it even being hinted at to lie to employees on a companies behalf!

We have worked in these conditions since last August in education. It never fails to amaze me when people whine about about going back to work in normal offices when most of us have got used to working with covid in less than suitable conditions. Life has to return to normal at some point. I do think that people have become accustomed to working from home and are afraid of normal life resuming! Try working in an environment of 430 kids and 130 staff without adequate ventilation or cleaning. That what most education staff have been dealing with, yet workers WFH have happily dropped their children off! Don’t whine about about going back to the office. Just get on with it.

Weeyelladug, No-one is whining, I am unsure how you took that from my posts?
I believe my team are entitled to ask if the measures they have been told are in place have actually happened or will happen.
They want to return and have been looking forward to being back together and being able to see service users face to face.

My issue is that I have been asked to lie to my team such as that the ventilation has been checked when it hasn't. . Would people be OK with finding out their employers deliberately lied to them?

The organisation is blatantly telling people to do things which are impossible to do such as open the windows. Why include them in guidance when they can't and won't happen?

Anyhow, not going to dwell on it any longer but I will not lie to my team.

People who've been working outside of the home are often bizarrely invested in getting everyone back in the office. They don't seem to understand that people working from home helps to keep everyone safer. I don't know why a teacher would rather be be sitting in a classroom all day with 30 students whose parents are all cramming onto public transport every day and then mixing with dozens of people at work than sitting in a room where nearly half the parents are working from home.

Sending people back to the office unnecessarily increases everyone's contacts. More people on public transport increases risk for everyone, even if you drive to work you've probably got colleagues who take public transport. Even if your workplace is in the middle of nowhere so you have to drive, your colleagues kids or partners will be taking the bus.

@QueenStromba

People who've been working outside of the home are often bizarrely invested in getting everyone back in the office. They don't seem to understand that people working from home helps to keep everyone safer. I don't know why a teacher would rather be be sitting in a classroom all day with 30 students whose parents are all cramming onto public transport every day and then mixing with dozens of people at work than sitting in a room where nearly half the parents are working from home.

Sending people back to the office unnecessarily increases everyone's contacts. More people on public transport increases risk for everyone, even if you drive to work you've probably got colleagues who take public transport. Even if your workplace is in the middle of nowhere so you have to drive, your colleagues kids or partners will be taking the bus.

I don't care about people working from home but I am sick of being told it makes me safer. I'm not scared of Covid for a start. And let's be real, people working from home aren't doing it to keep others safe, they're doing it because they prefer it. Stop acting like it's something noble, it's self serving more than anything.

@Eatenpig

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

Is it just guidance though or mandatory?

Whether or not you're scared of it, covid can cause death and long term disability in previously fit and healthy people. And having fewer people out and about is keeping you safer.

It may be useful to break this down into things that are / aren't a problem:

1. Ventilation issues - recirculated air with no open windows and ineffective air purifiers are a potential issue. It is reasonable to ensure this the air purifiers are sufficient to do their job, how are you certain nobody tested this? Are you also sure there are no additional filters installed within the air conditioning system? Screens can impede airflow for the purifiers, are you sure they can be used together? I'm a little surprised you know so much about the set-up and lack of testing, but if it were my team then I would want to ensure I got answers on this and it's a reasonable concern to reduce the risk for everyone. I would focus on just "ensure appropriately filtered ventilated air" instead of your long list, because your concerns are getting lost among silly things like how many use the toilet.
2. Cleaning surfaces - just tell your team to sanitise their own area and wash their hands, it doesn't need to be a big deal and it's distracting from things that matter (ventilation).
3. Small meetings - I'd raise this in a different way, that there needs to be guidance about doors closed for confidentiality, but that can be mitigated by limiting how often those meetings need to take place. Everyone will have to become comfortable taking some limited risks and this is an example where it seems unreasonable not to.
4. Toilets - these have the same ventilation system and again it's limited numbers, I don't think this'll help your case.
5. "was told that my job was to get them back in" - It's Friday and they're returning on Monday; surely this is already agreed and this is very last minute to panic as a manager, you can limit saying anything because it's the weekend but how have you got into a position of debating work attendance that's literally in the next working hour?
6. "and if necessary lie to them" - this is unacceptable and it is reasonable to refuse to lie. Depending on who said this to you add exactly what they said, you should escalate this internally. I do wonder if it's frustration because of your long unfocused list of concerns.
7. Disallowing work from home - it's short-sighted for work that can be done from home, especially allowance if someone in the household gets covid or if the person themselves is unwell. I'd address this by recommending when it suits the business to have them allowed to work from home, rather than individual preferences.

You can get advice from ACAS on 0300 123 1100. You do not need to be in a union, they can help anyone.

They cannot expect you to lie. As others have said, seek advice.

@QueenStromba

Whether or not you're scared of it, covid can cause death and long term disability in previously fit and healthy people. And having fewer people out and about is keeping you safer.

I don't want people to keep me safer. Happy to take my chances with everything completely normal. If others don't want to that's fine, but don't say it's to keep me safe.

We are back in the office now completely as normal. Distancing is gone, screens have gone, limited no. in lifts are gone. Meetings are happening as normal. It is literally just like 2019 except we now hybrid work so don’t have to be in every day. Tuesday & Wednesday is at full capacity though, it’s very busy on those days. Mon & Fri are quiet. We’ve been told there is enhanced cleaning but I can’t say I’ve paid much attention. There might be but I’ve no idea how much cleaning there was before really!

My company are good & if people have reasonable requests to continue WFH for now, they can.

I wouldn’t lie. An employer should not be making you lie to anyone. They don’t sound a very good employer if I’m honest. If you have doubts, look for another job.

@MRex

you seem to be taking a very relaxed view of an employer lying to employees with the intention of exposing them to increased health hazards.

We have worked in these conditions since last August in education

Really? Have you been told to lie to colleagues and service users about health and safety? Not just brushing over a couple of things but wholesale, premeditated, deliberate cover-up regarding pretty much everything management purport to be doing and are not?

Because that's the issue here.

@MRex

sorry, I see you've mentioned it now

[quote PigletJohn]@MRex

sorry, I see you've mentioned it now[/quote]
Well yes, saying it was unacceptable, advising to escalate it and giving the helpline number for ACAS didn't strike me as being "relaxed".

Mrex, thank you for the advice. I know my list seems unfocused - I was putting it down in a bit of a jumble here but of course communicated it differently to management.
I agree that some of these things are not as key as others but I listed it all to show the amount of issues that haven't been done but senior management have said they have.

I have been raising it for weeks so haven't left it to the last minute. This is the situation now as management have taken a long time to respond.
I know the checks such as the ventilation system haven't been done as I have been in meetings where this was raised and discussed.

@WeeYellaDug

We have worked in these conditions since last August in education. It never fails to amaze me when people whine about about going back to work in normal offices when most of us have got used to working with covid in less than suitable conditions. Life has to return to normal at some point. I do think that people have become accustomed to working from home and are afraid of normal life resuming! Try working in an environment of 430 kids and 130 staff without adequate ventilation or cleaning. That what most education staff have been dealing with, yet workers WFH have happily dropped their children off! Don’t whine about about going back to the office. Just get on with it.

And many of us non school staff, supported school staff saying it's 'not on' & more needs to be done!!

Is it beyond you to support others in working environments where the management is lying about the measures in place?

I didn't tell one single 'key worker' to suck it up & stop whinging!

What a horrible attitude you have.

I would be deeply unhappy about being told to lie, to the point I'd be looking for other work, but obviously new job doesn't fix things short term. If they're happy yo lie about this, what else might they be happy to lie about?

Do the staff have to be in,or can they work as effectively from home? If they just want people in for presenteeism, that's also rubbish, but there are some job roles which are better done from the office.

I would be using phrases like, "we have been told to tell you..." and "The official line is..." and contacting my union etc. Lieing should never be necessary, and it's unreasonable to ask it, especially around health and safety.

That's fair enough @Chompiemompie. I think it would be useful for you to get some advice from ACAS about how you go about escalating the issue of ventilation checks and being asked to lie. You'll be able to be more specific with them than you would be able to be here about the company type and management structure, so they can ensure you are acting in a way that doesn't put your job at risk.

Well I wouldn’t lie to them. Could you refer all questions to senior management? And let senior management know you plan to do that because you aren’t vouching for things that you aren’t confident in yourself.

I would drop an anonymous letter to your local HSE office. In our area they are still doing unannounced visits . And checking risk assessments