Want to know more about staying safe and healthy at work? Ask GMB Union’s experts - £100 voucher to be won

[JustineBMumsnet]

Coronavirus has changed work in ways we could never have anticipated. If you’ve been furloughed or you’re working from home, recent encouragement for some employers to get their employees back to work may have left you feeling confused about how this can be managed safely. So, for part 2 of GMB Union’s Work Clinic, their experts would like to help answer your questions about your right to return to work safely.

Here’s what GMB Union has to say: “GMB is the trade union for everyone. Our job is simple: protecting, defending and extending your rights in the workplace and beyond.

That means being there to fight your corner if you have a problem, big or small – and working to get you a better deal. Whatever the issue, we have thousands of highly trained staff and expert activists to support you. From securing proper sick pay in workplaces and ensuring wage support, to leading demands for proper protective equipment at the Government top table – we make sure our members’ voices are heard locally and nationally.

That’s the power of getting a union on your side. With GMB that’s what you get: a family that stands up for you.”

Want to know who will be answering your questions? Find some information on GMB’s experts below:

Lynsey Mann, National Health & Safety Officer at GMB

“Lynsey is GMB's National Health, Safety and Environment Officer. She has a Bachelors degree in Psychology and Masters degree in Environmental Health. Before joining GMB she worked at London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) for 9 years, in various Environmental Protection and Public Health roles. During her time at LBBD, Lynsey was also a GMB equality activist and a founding member of GMB Sisters women’s self-organised group. In her spare time, Lynsey is a long distance runner who runs half marathons most weekends and is training for her second London Marathon. She also enjoys baking cakes and knitting clothes for her family and friends' children.”

Susan Harris, Director of Legal Services at GMB

“Sue is a solicitor and has been Director of Legal Services at GMB since March 2018, particularly dealing with collective issues. Previously employed at Thompsons Solicitors for 28 years as an employment law specialist, Sue acted for unions and their members on an individual and collective basis. She was appointed as a salaried partner with Thompsons when pregnant with 1st child (1993) and full equity partner when pregnant with 3rd child (1996). She is now a mother of 3 daughters, 3 cats, 4 tortoises and numerous fish. She has an abhorrence of exercise; was a regular theatre goer in pre-lock down world, so is now reading more!”

Rehana Azam, National Secretary, Public Services at GMB

“With over two decades’ experience of fighting for workers' rights with GMB, Rehana is one of the trade union movement’s most senior BAME women. She leads national negotiations with employers to improve workers’ pay, terms and conditions and is a fierce campaigner. Rehana is a proud mum of one boy safely brought into the world thanks to the NHS, as well as a gorgeous King Charles Cavalier named Archie. She's a couch to 5K type of runner, but has marched hundreds of miles for the NHS and will dust off her marching boots again after lockdown.”

Would you like to understand what your employer should be doing to enable safe and protective physical distancing? Perhaps you’d like more information on what your employer should now be providing so that you can do your job safely? Do you want to know what your rights are if you don’t believe your workplace to be safe?

Whatever your questions surrounding health and safety in the workplace at this time, please ask them below by midday on the 26th May. GMB Union’s experts will be back between 3 and 4pm on Thursday 28th May to answer your questions.

All who post a question (regardless of whether it is answered or not) will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

[grecka]

I work with young adults with special needs at a college. How could I be kept safe when my students are not in a position to adhere to social distancing?

[danigrace]

Given the new small study about coronavirus affecting the placenta, would pregnant workers be able to choose to stay isolated?

[nuttymomma]

I work for a public sector organisation with offices in every major town and city. We sometimes share with other organisations in the same building so my first question is: how can organisations protect staff where there are shared entrances and lifts, and t is not known what the other companies in that building are doing?

Much of our work involves working with customers who come into the office, very often drop in, and also out in the community visiting schools/colleges/universities/employers/social work/job centres etc. So my second question is kind of linked to the first: how can we be safe when visiting other other organisations, when working with customers face to face and when working in the community? (we are not classed as key workers though and it is not health related!)

My third question is about the sheer number of people vs number of desks we have. We have over 4000 staff in my region. We do hot desking and I know that we are meant to stop that now and work from home but my question is: what if you can't work from home, and there are not enough desks for everyone or enough space?

[wellingtonsandwaffles]

Is it safe or good practice to hold central London interviews in June? All my interviews have been postponed until then but it will require me and others travelling across country and into the city.

[nuttymomma]

@MNHQ can you pin this somewhere so we can all come back and refer to it if needed.

[lovemyflipflops]

I have been asked to go back to work, but not the job I did before lockdown, I will be working in a warehouse picking and packing rather than being customer. facing. I have had no training in working at heights or operating machinery. I am not the only one in this predicament - but am wary of sole working in an environment I am not used to - can I refuse ? What are my rights (there is a rider on my contract which is ... any anything else management requires of you during the running of the business)

[JustineBMumsnet]

Thank you all for your questions. The GMB have been in touch to postpone giving the answers to this Q&A. You can read their full statement here. Justine has contacted the President and General Secretary of the GMB Union and offered to discuss any specific concerns raised with them directly. We very much hope that we can organise the answers being given at a later date.

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

As some of you will know, the GMB came back to us a couple of weeks ago to confirm they would not be providing answers to the questions that MNers had asked here. We were really disappointed by their decision. You can read their statement, and ours, here.

Since then we’ve been working out how to get some answers for you - because whatever else has gone on, we thought it was fundamentally a bit rubbish to invite questions from people in difficult employment situations, and then just leave them hanging.

So a round of applause, please, for IndependentHRConsultant, who will be along in a moment to start addressing the issues raised by users on this thread.

IndependentHRConsultant is a long-term MNer who contacted us to offer her services. She’s a big supporter of Mumsnet but understandably prefers to remain anonymous. We’ve seen her professional qualifications, her driving license, and material that shows she currently provides independent HR consultancy advice. As far as we ever can, we’re very happy to vouch for her - and grateful to her for offering to help.

A couple of things to note: firstly, quite some time has passed since lots of you asked the questions on this thread. In some cases the advice you needed was time-limited and realistically may not be very useful any more. In other circumstances, government guidance (especially around COVID-19) will have changed since you asked the question.

IndependentHRConsultant is going to do her level best to give sensible, appropriate advice to all of you, but in some cases she might need to ask you to provide more up-to-date information before she can help. If the moment has passed and you don’t really need advice any more, that’s fine, of course - you don’t have to provide more info if you don’t want to.

Secondly, IndependentHRConsultant is doing this in her own time and without payment, and there’s a limit to how much she can do. So if you’re about to post up a new question for her, we’d ask you to hold back for now. Our priority is to get some good advice to the people who originally posted on this thread back in May.

And with that we’re going to hand over to our Good Samaritan.

Thanks
MNHQ

[IndependentHRConsultant]

Hi there, I’m trying out my new username. I’m going to try my best to get through all of your questions.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@BrandyandBabycham Hi, please could you update on your current situaiton as I appreciate things may have changed since your original post.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@BristolMum96 It's better if the situation doesn't get to that stage. I recommend you have a discussion with your manager. You are perfectly entitled to expect the correct equipment to be provided to you to do your job.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@crosser62 I recommend you raise your concerns with someone. Either someone you report in to or HR. It would be good to have a record in writing of your concerns and how they have been responded to.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@TheModicum I love the idea of a people's union, although I'm not sure how it would work in practice. It's not clear to me where the responsibilities of the safety of the building lies. Maybe try talking to the other people in the building. Perhaps you could join together and present the landlord with your requests.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@foxessocks I think the current guidance is to have sufficient distance from others in enclosed spaces.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@torthecatlady I agree that there is a concern here. Raise it to whoever is responsible for either processes or health & safety and ask for the process to be included in a risk assessment.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@desperatehousewife21 Any reduction in pay should be agreed upfront. Check your employment contract for any reference to this.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@SDM88 I wouldn't recommending refusing to work but if you feel unsafe you should definitely raise your concerns with someone internally. Is there someone who is responsible for COVID in your workplace?

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@OhWesternWind It doesn't sound as if your basic needs are being met. An alternative provision needs to be made available for you.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@mummy81 I think hot desking has been classed as unsuitable in the current environment. If there aren't enough desks for people to have one of their own then other options need to be considered such as working from home or another premises.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@KateOxford Some clients I have worked with are using signs for their toilets so that people only use them one at a time. I recommend taking your own supplies to avoid using shared kitchens if you don't feel safe.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@fishnships You can simply resign from your position, giving the required amount of notice.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@Babe I don't recommend refusing to work. Ideally talk to someone in your workplace about your situation and come to an arrangement that suits you both. Some people are working from home, travelling at quieter times, transferring to a different location etc.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@Olinguito My understanding of the latest advice is that if you can't work from home then to make every effort to travel to the office. Depending on what your journey is like, I understand this could feel unsafe. Ask your employer for their support, I think it is in their interested to help you as much as they can.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@36degrees As far as I am aware, there is research underway to understand more about how COVID may affect people of different ethnicities but I don’t think there is anything conclusive. I think the best approach is to protect all of your employees in the most appropriate way for their job.

[IndependentHRConsultant]

@sarat1 I'm not sure of the exact risk. Check the risk assessment that should have been carried out in your workplace and published so that employees can see it.