I can work from home but my bosses wont let me

jordo91

I am a software engineer at a small company that manufactures devices, i mainly work on their websites and developing a VR training simulation, everything i do in work i can do at home no problem as i have all the resources, i have never asked to work from home before but after the government advising people to work from home where possible i have asked my employer and they said they wouldnt support it because it would be unfair to the other employees who cant work from home, do I have any rights in regards to this?

elsien

No rights but potentially a business case.
Less people in the office means less chance for people to go off sick. Put together something that points to the benefits for them in keeping as many of their workforce healthy as possible. Sounds like they haven't really thought it through. 

Pollycat

This is a temporary board for discussions specifically relating to travel disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Needs moving to probably this board:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/employment-jobseeking-training

heatherw_01

Hi, we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.

TBagpuss

t present, no right to WFH but I would recommend going back to your employer - make the case for WFH from the perspective of benefitting the business 
e.g.
- Fewer people in the office reduces the risk of cross-contamination and makes it less likely that others will get ill and have to be off work
- Setting you up to WFH should mean that you will be able to continue to work and help keep the business running even if others at work become sick, or the business has to close its doors completely
- Specific government advice is to work from home where possible - failing to follow this could be seen as a failure of their duty of care to their employees
 

eDicky

jordo91 said:

they said they wouldnt support it because it would be unfair to the other employees who cant work from home

To put it simply, the contrary is true - your absence in the workplace would benefit the other employees by being one less potential source of infection.

Pollycat

I would say rather than trying to determine your rights you would be better trying to convince your employer that working from home would be sensible and beneficial to all.