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Original poster

Unfair treatment at work..help please?

27 replies

slowroast · 12/12/2021 19:06

I'm due to return to work after Christmas after taking 9 months maternity leave and I was on furlough before my time off (ever since covid started so haven't worked since then). Everything's been sorted with work until my boss called me on Friday and said that I have to go into the office to work but no one will be there as everyone's working from home. They're saying that I cants do the same because they don't have any spare laptops to give me so I can also work from home. I'm looking to get a second opinion on this as I'm not sure if IABU. I feel as though I'm being treated differently to all the other employees and and that it's unfair that everyone is allowed to WFH full-time...but me. I've even offered to use my own laptop at home but they've refused. Am I overreacting? What do I do?

OP posts:
Aprilx · 13/12/2021 09:07

It seems odd rather than necessarily unfair at first glance. Are they literally allowing every employee to work at home except you? So they are running an office for only you to attend? Do you do exactly the same job as everybody else? Does anybody else use their own laptop?

Have you organised child care? I wonder if they are concerned you would be looking after a very young child if you are at home.

Original poster
slowroast · 13/12/2021 12:17

@Aprilx thanks for getting back to me. Yes, everyone from my office is working from home full time. Very odd, right? And yes, same job. It is also the job that my colleague was doing for me while I was off...from home. And no, everyone had laptops that the company bought for them. And yes, childcare has been arranged for months now and they know that.

OP posts:
DoughNutBabe · 13/12/2021 12:23

Surely for health and safety reasons they can’t have just 1 person in the office all day five days a week? What’s their risk assessment on sole working..

Emsie1987 · 13/12/2021 12:25

I think there is a delay in ordering laptops so maybe that's their issue at the moment. Our company policy is not to use home equipment due to the company not being able to erase any data if it is lost - GDPR.

I would of thought that it was a health and safety issue if it was just you in the office. If you were to fall or be robbed no one would know.

MalbecandToast · 13/12/2021 12:28

I would LOVE an office to myself! I can't WFH but if I could I would prefer to go into work for the change of scenery and to use their electricity and heating 🤣

Hoppinggreen · 13/12/2021 12:31

Our company is really struggling to source laptops. We have a new starter in Jan and almost had to delay her start date.
Luckily (not for him obviously) someone got fired on Friday so we have a laptop spare.
They genuinely might not have a laptop for you and using a personal one can be dodgy

MalbecandToast · 13/12/2021 12:31

Lone working is perfectly OK do long as mitigation is in place e.g. a thorough risk assesment, regularly checking in with you throughout the work day etc. Loads of people do it.

Chronicallymothering · 13/12/2021 12:34

I would imagine you are the victim of an experience whereby someone else returned from maternity leave and saw an opportunity to save childcare fees by combining working from home with looking after a 9 month old. This way they know for sure you have appropriate childcare in place. It’s not right but they are probably protecting themselves..

SirChenjins · 13/12/2021 12:38

I'd be surprised if you were allowed to use your personal laptop for work business - unless there's a policy which allows this. Do you all use PCs when you're in the office, as opposed to laptops with docking stations?

I'd ask for confirmation of the order of a laptop so that you know lone working is a temporary thing, and would want to see a copy of the lone worker risk assessment.

Asi1 · 13/12/2021 12:40

@Chronicallymothering

I would imagine you are the victim of an experience whereby someone else returned from maternity leave and saw an opportunity to save childcare fees by combining working from home with looking after a 9 month old. This way they know for sure you have appropriate childcare in place. It’s not right but they are probably protecting themselves..
No, this can't be right as they must have other employees with children. Why would they single her out?

It looks like discrimination to me on account of her returning to work AFTER maternity leave and not being treated equally as other employees and giving the same option to work from home.

Blossom64265 · 13/12/2021 12:46

I would double-check if this is a short term solution to the laptop shortage.

If it is not, then yes, there is a problem.

Nearlytheretrees · 13/12/2021 13:02

Have they said if it is a permanent arrangement or just until they are able to order you a laptop? Our work would not allow us to use personal ones due to data protection

christmaskittenincoming · 13/12/2021 13:12

Are they opening up the office just for you solely to go in?

Motnight · 13/12/2021 13:15

Get everything in writing as a first step.

LIZS · 13/12/2021 13:15

If you were furloughed why were you unable to wfh then? Is there a desktop you could borrow from the office? If they insist ask about Lone Working policy.

QuestionNumberOne · 13/12/2021 13:16

Get it all on writing. They cannot legally single you out in this way.

QuestionNumberOne · 13/12/2021 13:17

*in writing

choosername1234 · 13/12/2021 13:44

Has anyone else in your workplace returned from maternity leave in the time you have been away? If so, how were they treated?

DraigFach · 13/12/2021 14:05

My husband fell foul of a lack of laptops when he returned from long term sick just as WFH kicked in for his company at the start of lockdown.

Because of LTS they just hadn't planned for his return to work in a practical way and he was required to attend the office by himself on his return, it was just him and a security guard for 3 days. The choice was return to the office of be off unpaid until the situation was resolved because the office was a safe place to work given that he would have almost exclusive access to the space available and there was a security guard on site at all times.

Eventually they got their arses into gear and made arrangements for an entire desktop to be delivered to the house directly from the office and made arrangements for his VPN to be set up.

It's not nice treatment and speaks volumes for the lack of logistical planning from team managers...however I wouldn't say it's unfair unless they refuse to make arrangements for you to WFH too in good time.

WhiteCatmas · 13/12/2021 14:07

There is a worldwide laptop shortage.

Original poster
slowroast · 14/12/2021 09:57

They never ordered me a laptop.

OP posts:
GrapefruitsAreGreat · 14/12/2021 10:03

I think it seems unfair and is possibly discriminatory to treat you differently than everyone else because you were on maternity leave, but I don't know of the legal position. Can you get advice from somewhere like Pregnantthanscrewed?

SushiGo · 14/12/2021 10:09

It does seem unfair, but being practical, I would work in the office for a couple of weeks then ask about the laptop again.

They haven't had you working there for a long time due to the furlough before maternity, taking a few weeks to prove yourself is going to make a better impression than insisting on being allowed to WFH.

Talipesmum · 14/12/2021 10:18

They clearly need to order you a laptop - I think it would be reasonable to work in the office until you have a laptop - but unreasonable of them to delay ordering one. And I’d be annoyed they hadn’t done so already.

Have you asked them to order you a laptop? It would be unfair if they didn’t since everyone else has one, and you only don’t have one because you were on ML. Them having “no spares” explains why they can’t give you one now, but not why they can’t get you one.

50ShadesOfCatholic · 14/12/2021 10:24

It smacks of sex discrimination for which there is no upper ceiling in payouts should they be found in breach of employment law.

Ask for it in writing and perhaps give it a go at being in the office, then ask again what's happening with your laptop.

It's better if you give them several opportunities to make things right.

If the singling out treatment persists, you might want to file a grievance. It sucks 😔