Fear of redundancy due to refusing to work because of lack of Coronavirus PPE

BillieBoy

Hi all
I am currently suspended from work as I have raised concerns with my management around a lack of suitable PPE.
I work for a funeral home transporting the deceased from private homes and care homes to the funeral home.  I earn £300 per month for being on standby for 240 hours.

I have a high risk elderly father in law living with us and my father is undergoing radiotherapy.

My concert is that we don’t necessarily know whether home deaths could be attributed to Covid-19 so I asked my manager for further PPE including disposable goggles, disposable aprons and shoe protectors.

The following morning I received a mail saying that my request constituted a refusal to work and I am suspended without pay for further notice.

At the moment the HSE guidelines only cover confirmed cases so I don’t know where I stand.

I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts.

BillieBoy

Apologies, I forgot the important bit. Can they make me redundant/sack me for this?

lincroft1710

How long have you worked there?

Undervalued

BillieBoy said:

Apologies, I forgot the important bit. Can they make me redundant/sack me for this?

It is a position, not a person, that becomes redundant so you cannot lawfully be made redundant for refusing to do certain duties.

You could however be disciplined or even dismissed for failing to follow a reasonable management instruction. You may have a valid defence if you are genuinely being put at risk but that would need an expert assessment of the risks.

BillieBoy

Thank you so much for your replies.

I have been working at the funeral home for 18 months.

With regards to expert opinion, I am a recently retired advanced paramedic fully trained in disease control and transporting patients (admittedly alive ones) in those circumstances. I am SARS and Ebola trained and genuinely believe that my boss and supporting teams are at risk. 

mwarby

Would it not also be a reasonable defence that the OP hasn’t in fact refused to work, he just made a request to management ?

London50

Under 2 years they can get rid of you for most reasons including what you have {rightly} raised a concern about so you have no comeback at all

thebrexitunicorn

London50 said:

Under 2 years they can get rid of you for most reasons including what you have {rightly} raised a concern about so you have no comeback at all

Not necessarily.  It’s possible that raising these concerns constitutes making a public interest disclosure (whistleblowing). It’s unlawful to dismiss someone for making a disclosure regardless of length of service.  If you’re in a union you might want to speak to them.   It certainly isn’t a redundancy situation because the role is still there. 

London50

thebrexitunicorn said:

London50 said:

Under 2 years they can get rid of you for most reasons including what you have {rightly} raised a concern about so you have no comeback at all

Not necessarily.  It’s possible that raising these concerns constitutes making a public interest disclosure (whistleblowing). It’s unlawful to dismiss someone for making a disclosure regardless of length of service.  If you’re in a union you might want to speak to them.   It certainly isn’t a redundancy situation because the role is still there. 

The rules now {and have been for a long time that any employer can in the first two years can dismiss someone for any reason other than a set out basics. They do not have to give a reason so it would be very hard for the OP to prove it is because of the PPE issue as the company will just say the OP was refusing to work

Andy_L

Asking for extra PPE is not a refusal to work so either:
1. there's a miscommunication
2. They are looking for an excuse to get rid of you which, with under 2 years service, is trivially easy
3. In the heat of the moment you did actually refuse to work without PPE

Although I'm surprised that you aren't using aprons & eye-pro as a matter of routine anyway

thebrexitunicorn

The rules now {and have been for a long time that any employer can in the first two years can dismiss someone for any reason other than a set out basics. They do not have to give a reason so it would be very hard for the OP to prove it is because of the PPE issue as the company will just say the OP was refusing to work

I’m aware of the legislation.   There is no length of service requirement for a complaint under the PIDA.   OP you could also argue a case for automatically unfair dismissal (assuming you’re dismissed) for having raised the health and safety issues. There is also no two year service requirement for this.   Why don’t you ring the Acas helpline to talk it through.