Welsh government overreaching now fines for working

[justasking111]

Well this has caused dismay you must try to work from home your employer must enable this from Monday, your vehicle stopped £60 fine, employer 1k fine.

You'll be fined if you live in Wales but work in England

@sashagabadon

They have lost their minds! I thought vaccine passports were to keep things open? Thank goodness England don’t seem to be following the insanity

A benefit of not having a Labour government. Starmer would have had restrictions and vaccine passports all summer.

the welsh govt are a little nuts, my mum lives on the welsh side of the border where the village straddles both england and wales, with supermarkets on the welsh side of the border, post office on the english side. In the first couple of lockdowns, older people from the english side were told they would be fined if they walked to the welsh side supermarket even though that meant they would have to take a bus to reach the closest supermarket in england (and likewise welsh side residents would need to take a bus to reach the next welsh post office)

If you're on the computer, the kids are him and want to stream Disney then your laptop grinds to a halt and the streaming judders too.

There is an easy answer to that specific problem.

I work from home and have to rely on a weak 4G signal. When I’m working, my internet needs take priority.

Wonder if there are any restrictions on Wales preventing Drakeford from visiting his rapist son in prison this Xmas?

What odious authoritarian prick.

Like most lockdown fanatics, Drakeford gives of the feeling of someone badly bullied at school, who now they have a sniff of power, go full dictator to exact revenge.

Also, how would anyone prove you are in fact travelling to work?

There isn't currently a 'stay at home' order in Wales, is there? So you don't need to give a reason for daring to be outside the home. So if plod stops you in your car at 8.45, couldn't you just say that you're going to visit a relative or travelling to a medical appointment? Or shopping? Or simply enjoying a drive? None of the above are currently illegal, but who knows what's next.

This 'measure' is just incredibly moronic.

@Andacherryonthetop

This is mental. I live by the border and loads of people by me commute to Chester and Liverpool. Their employers could insist on them being in the office and they could still be fined! It’s absolutely ridiculous. Drakeford just loses the plot at times. It’s like when half the aisles of the shops were taped off because he decided you could go to the shop but only enter certain aisles.

Yeah - which then actually makes no sense because you had the same amount of people in a smaller space 🤦🏼‍♀️

Eh!! A son in jail wtf. How Did I not I is this!!!

I'm not going be allowed a nye party, am I?

@Fountainsoftea

I'm not going be allowed a nye party, am I?

But people will have them here and in Scotland in their homes an uncontrolled environment

@Deadcanary1

Eh!! A son in jail wtf. How Did I not I is this!!!

It's what he's in for shudder

@IcedPurple

Also, how would anyone prove you are in fact travelling to work?

There isn't currently a 'stay at home' order in Wales, is there? So you don't need to give a reason for daring to be outside the home. So if plod stops you in your car at 8.45, couldn't you just say that you're going to visit a relative or travelling to a medical appointment? Or shopping? Or simply enjoying a drive? None of the above are currently illegal, but who knows what's next.

This 'measure' is just incredibly moronic.

Interesting point.

@OldMMC

There is a large fine for employers. WFH if you can has been the policy in Wales all through the pandemic. Most people I know who worked from home in March 2020 are still working from home so are all set up to do so. BUT some companies are putting pressure on employees to get back to the office, I think some bosses like to see people working!

I don't agree with the policy and as all other pps have said don't see how it can ever be enforced - but this is a key element.

It's not like in England when a lot of workers went back to their workplace - the guidance has never changed in Wales so nobody should be scrabbling around for chairs/working out the definition of "if you can" because they've had nearly 2 years to sort all that out.

Drakeford seems 5o care less about people living alone than other UK leaders - wales was the last to introduce bubbles if you lived alone, and the wfh focus disproportionately affects them too. Most of the exceptions in my office for people coming in were for mental health reasons, which is fair enough IMHO.

Drakeford has done a u turn, think the leverage of the unions, threats from employers and legal beagles have done the trick, Hallelujah

Drakeford seems 5o care less about people living alone than other UK leaders - wales was the last to introduce bubbles if you lived alone, and the wfh focus disproportionately affects them too

and also the ban on exercising with other people. Last January in England, you could exercise with one other person outside your household. That was really important for women in particular when it's dark so early. But they took a few weeks to allow that in Wales, and then only if you lived close to each other.

I am possibly the person who is least keen on Drakeford in the whole world, but I do want to be fair to him. The son who is in jail was adopted, I think at an older age. It's possible that he had been through so much trauma by that point that out was not possible to help him. It's possible Drakeford could have done more to help him, but I'm uncomfortable with blaming Drakeford for his son's actions.

Drakeford is keeping the Welsh SAFER.

And I'm not saying trauma makes people into rapists. I know it's so much more complicated than that, and that was probably poor phrasing. But I think it's unfair to blame Drakeford.

I don't blame drakey for his son's actions but I 100% blame him for letting a virus that kills the most vulnerable into care homes, keeping schools shut for longer than England, decimating social care and the many stupid things he's criminalised. Plus not rolling back on things that clearly don't work

But Drakeford isn't keeping the Welsh safer, if we basically spend our working and social lives in England. He's just ensuring we spend more money over the border.

Good. We should enforce it in England too.

My employer has forced us in through the entire thing because they want to micromanage. The job can be done from home 100%

He’s bonkers

@Whathefisgoingon

Good. We should enforce it in England too.

My employer has forced us in through the entire thing because they want to micromanage. The job can be done from home 100%

Do you think you should be fined for this, then? Rather than your employer?

@Thickasmincepie

But Drakeford isn't keeping the Welsh safer, if we basically spend our working and social lives in England. He's just ensuring we spend more money over the border.

I was thinking this - the covid passed for cinermas were off putting for us now it's max 6 plus covid passes.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59752752
And workers could face fines of £60 if they are not working from home with good reason.

"They are designed to protect workers, not to punish them," Mr Drakeford said.
"When these same rules were there earlier in the pandemic, no fines were issued at all."

@VikingOnTheFridge If this was law in England, I would simply report my employer. It would be a non issue.

DH employer over the border in England was close till September - they've said they won't do that again and current wfh rules don't apply as they are educational.

Fair enough really DH is triple jabbed - most of the students will be by January as all over 18.