Employer can't meet the basic requirements for work

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thescouselander
thescouselander Posts: 5,542 Forumite
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in Employment, jobseeking & training
I found myself in a rather strange position yesterday. My employer has been increasing the workforce well beyond what the accommodation can deal with. At first they tried to deal with this by implementing a "flexible desk" system but this is now well over subscribed.

The problem I had is I had no desk or computer to work at - being in a desk based role this presented some serious problems and I was unable to work properly. It looks like this might continue to be a problem and although I might have better luck booking a desk in future someone else in the team will end up in the same position as I did yesterday.

Is there any provision in law that forces employers to provide the basics required for the job?
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  • paddedjohn
    paddedjohn Posts: 7,512 Forumite
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    If you can't get a desk what do you do?
    Be Alert..........Britain needs lerts.
  • Helvetica_Van_Buren
    Helvetica_Van_Buren Posts: 270 Forumite
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    paddedjohn wrote: »
    If you can't get a desk what do you do?

    ^^^This.

    The next time you can't get a desk, go to your boss and say: "I haven't got a desk. Where do you expect me to sit and how do you expect me to work?"

    If it continues, look for another they job. That place sounds shjt.
  • Undervalued
    Undervalued Posts: 8,852 Forumite
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    thescouselander wrote: »
    I found myself in a rather strange position yesterday. My employer has been increasing the workforce well beyond what the accommodation can deal with. At first they tried to deal with this by implementing a "flexible desk" system but this is now well over subscribed.

    The problem I had is I had no desk or computer to work at - being in a desk based role this presented some serious problems and I was unable to work properly. It looks like this might continue to be a problem and although I might have better luck booking a desk in future someone else in the team will end up in the same position as I did yesterday.

    Is there any provision in law that forces employers to provide the basics required for the job?

    Only regarding toilet facilities, safety equipment and minimum temperatures etc. Beyond that they are entirely free to fail to provide the things somebody needs to work efficiently if they so choose!
  • YouAsked
    YouAsked Posts: 97 Forumite
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    thescouselander wrote: »

    Is there any provision in law that forces employers to provide the basics required for the job?

    Your contract is probably the best place to start! Have a look in it to see what your company's contractual obligations to you are. Then you can also have a look at any related policies.

    Are you unable to do your job in any capacity when you don't have a desk? If so, this seems a strangely uneconomical way for a company to run a business - are you SURE that the powers that be know this is the situation? What do you *do* when you have no desk? Do you say to a manger "erm, what am I supposed to do?" - and if so, what do they say?

    Also, you're probably doing this already but if your job has a target/bonus element then make sure you keep a detailed record of any times you did not have the equipment to do your job, who you informed of this, and what you did instead.

    If this is a short-medium term issue, you might want to see if it can be worked to your advantage - so maybe a rota of working from home to ease the pressure on resources?
  • ohreally
    ohreally Posts: 7,525 Forumite
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    You don't have a problem, you're line manager does, over to LM.
    Don’t be a can’t, be a can.
  • motorguy
    motorguy Posts: 22,473 Forumite
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    ohreally wrote: »
    You don't have a problem, you're line manager does, over to LM.

    Absolutely agree.

    If somebody wants to pay me to stand around and scratch my plums all day because there are no desks, then thats fine by me.
  • ThemeOne
    ThemeOne Posts: 1,471 Forumite
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    It looks like they'll have to set up their IT so people can work remotely from home, but that's for them to worry about not you.

    In the meantime I guess you just keep going in and getting paid for not doing much!
  • sangie595
    sangie595 Posts: 6,092 Forumite
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    thescouselander wrote: »
    I found myself in a rather strange position yesterday. My employer has been increasing the workforce well beyond what the accommodation can deal with. At first they tried to deal with this by implementing a "flexible desk" system but this is now well over subscribed.

    The problem I had is I had no desk or computer to work at - being in a desk based role this presented some serious problems and I was unable to work properly. It looks like this might continue to be a problem and although I might have better luck booking a desk in future someone else in the team will end up in the same position as I did yesterday.

    Is there any provision in law that forces employers to provide the basics required for the job?

    Ok. So that was your problem. What did you do about it then? You spoke to your manager, and their response was...? You surely didn't sit there all day doing very little and then come here to post about whether there is a law to guarantee you a desk, did you?

    Yes there have been a load of helpful suggestions here, but surely you actually have said or done something already? You know the workplace better than anyone here!
  • thescouselander
    thescouselander Posts: 5,542 Forumite
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    Actually I'm in a management position myself. My manager has the same problem also. The problem with our workplace is that it's so large decisions get taken in one part of the organisation which can have profound effects but these cannot be overturned even by senior managers locally. I have escalated the issue higher up but there's not much that can be done by anyone locally to me.

    My reason for asking about the legal aspects is that the organisation normally responds to legal issues where are other complaints get ignored.

    As for the alternatives - I can't work from home as I'm often required to attend meetings in person. Fortunately I had a lot of meetings yesterday which mitigated the lack of desk somewhat but I still struggled when I needed to access a computer.
  • takman
    takman Posts: 3,876 Forumite
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    Why don't get you request a laptop computer. It's easy to justify the cost of a laptop if your attending lots of meetings and need access to a computer to be productive.
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