Employment law and home working help please

[Slankets]

Background, when we went into lockdown last March like a lot of people were sent to work from home, work then sold the office last year and we will never be going back to an office.

My Internet has broken due to workmen in the road cutting something, rang Internet provider they said they are aware and are waiting for open reach to come fix it, they have no idea when this will be hopefully tomorrow could be Wednesday. I literally cant work with no Internet as everything we do is cloud based. Our computers are clap and not wifi enabled so I can't even hotspot from my phone. Also on a previous occasion (before the office closed and we had an Internet issue in the office) we tried wireless dongles and even those aren't compatible with the stone age computers.

I work full time 8-5 m-f and work are saying I have to either make the time up or take it with no pay, I cant afford to take it with no pay and not sure how exactly I'm meant to make a full day (or even 2 or 3) when I already work full time?

Can they legally do this? It's not my fault the Internet broke, I can prove the Internet has broken and its not my fault their equipment is too old to be wifi enabled. There is nowhere else for me to work.

Thank you for reading any advice is greatly appreciated, I tried having a Google but couldn't find anything concrete.

I think if you are available to work and prepared to do so, then they should be paying you. After all, they haven’t provided an office for you and we are in a lockdown so it’s not reasonable for you to hire somewhere else to work from.

If you were in the office and your computer wasn’t working so needed rebooting, you wouldn’t be expected to add the time it took for the computer to be back on again.

Agree with PP.

Also, suspending you on no pay is a bit extreme under the actual circumstances!

If your work systems are cloud based you should be able to log on from your phone though, no need to hotspot you just need a web browser and data on your phone to connect, although this is expensive they would not have a so called excuse not to pay you or insist you make up time.

Communicate with them politely in writing to try and find a more reasonable solution from them.

Could you take Annual Leave or emergency domestic leave?

Any work policies on the above you can access?

Ask them to send you this information?

Have you got a personal device? If you have outlook and teams you can log into a web version on any computer and maybe colleagues could send docs if you need them?

When my colleague had a similar issue a few weeks ago with their broadband (although it was only off for a few hours and they just agreed to make the time up) they asked if they could put the cloud on their personal laptop for use in emergencies and were told no due to data protection. Due to the programs we use it wouldn't really be feasible to use a phone (if they would even let us)

When my colleague raised the fact that it wasn't her fault her Internet went down work replied that it wasn't there's either and they can't be expected to pay for people to "sit at home and drink coffee"

What is your job??

Surely the systems should be secure over the internet??

Does your contract say your place of work is at the office (that they've sold!) or has it been changed to home? If the latter there may be terms in there regarding provision of internet but unlikely if the former.

The cloud is on the internet and not on a computer.

Dig your heels in totally out of order they aren't paying for it You are more than happy to work they need to sort it and provide you with a solution .

If you have enough data and a good signal, use your phone as a hotspot and use your data. Not ideal but temporarily do this and ask work to pay for your extra data

I'm sorry but if the internet went down in the office would that be your fault also resulting in no pay? I don't think so.

Tell them to take a running jump, they have made the decision to sell their office and make all their employees work from home, if they're not going to provide their employees with equipment that works in this century then that's not your problem.

If everything is cloud based you can use any laptop, tablet or phone a you're not limited to your (works?)!crappy laptop. Why did you colleague want the cloud (all of it?!!!) on her laptop?

Your wifi being unusable shouldn't make any difference as long as you have a 4g connection.

Why don't you just take a couple
Of days leave?

@sittingonacornflake

Does your contract say your place of work is at the office (that they've sold!) or has it been changed to home? If the latter there may be terms in there regarding provision of internet but unlikely if the former.

This is the most important response so far and a key point to clarify here. If you've signed a new contract of employment which states you are home based and it's your responsibility to ensure you have appropriate internet connection in order to work, then there will be no point 'digging your heels in' or 'telling them to take a running jump' as you are being advised.

If you're working in a bigger organisation you can't be the only one who has had the issue. Worth asking around.

This really shows how employers and employees must agree new employment contracts when working from home. It’s viral so everyone knows where they stand.

viral?? Vital.

Contact acas for help good luck

Can they legally do this? It's not my fault the Internet broke, I can prove the Internet has broken and its not my fault their equipment is too old to be wifi enabled. There is nowhere else for me to work.

Sorry to say OP this is one of the downsides of using domestic broadband for work ... the times to repair and customer service levels are far lower than if you are on a proper business package.

Well yes. It’s a downside but that’s why employees and employers need a mutually agreed contract including standard of equipment and expenses if applicable.

@PresentingPercy

Well yes. It’s a downside but that’s why employees and employers need a mutually agreed contract including standard of equipment and expenses if applicable.

It's one dimension to the "Should my employer pay for my WiFi" debate.

It's not just about money. It's about service.

Same as your average social & domestic insurance doesn't cover you for cabbing.

The contract point is important. If you haven't signed a new contract to acknowledge that you're now officially working from home then I think you can push back. If you have signed a new contract then it will depend on the detail. If there's nothing explicit in there about your responsibilities around internet provision then I still think you can push back.

Aside from that, unless this absence is part of a pattern and you frequently take unauthorised time off I think they're being petty and unreasonable given the circumstances.

The whole point of a contract is that there would be agreement regarding a service provider, who is paying and what standard is required. Plus core hours of work and meetings with colleagues etc. This is obviously vital as the employer no longer has an office. Yes, the op is in a difficult position not of her making.

These sorts of issues will continue to come to the fore in numerous businesses if the IT and working requirements aren’t addressed.

Can't you say that you are a available and willing to work and if they provide you somewhere to work from during your normal hours then you'll do that? Not really reasonable for them to expect you to make time up for this! Put the ball back in their court - provide me the space and facility to work and I will!

Tell them you are happy to come in and work seen they changed your conditions not you!

@titchy

If everything is cloud based you can use any laptop, tablet or phone a you're not limited to your (works?)!crappy laptop. Why did you colleague want the cloud (all of it?!!!) on her laptop?

Your wifi being unusable shouldn't make any difference as long as you have a 4g connection.

Why don't you just take a couple
Of days leave?

Why should she?