Employees rights

Jayjay08

A company has been closed since the 26th or March, basically since boris announced lockdown. Approx 600 workers all in reasonably close contact have been placed on furlough.

Although they are connected to the transport  industry, I wouldn’t class is as “essential”,  a word which appears to be hugely subjective. 

Given the fact that current guidelines are asking non essential companies to remain closed, they  have been advised that they will be asked to return to work next week. With all the usual promises of Phasing workers back in in small numbers, atPPE, Social  distance etc etc. 

Scotland’s first minister has just announced a further 3 week extension to the “lockdown” 
iIf an employer asks them to return to work while this lockdown is in place what are the employees rights? 

If they ask them to go back is it mandatory or voluntary? Will they be in breach of contract if they refuse to go back while the government are telling them to stay home? 

Grumpy_chap

It was only a specific set of businesses (mostly accessed by the public) that were instructed to close.

For everyone else it was, if you can work from home then do, but otherwise you can still go to work if you follow social distancing etc.  Initially a lot of companies that could stay open closed while their management teams worked out how they could get going again with the social distancing etc.  It was "essential travel only" but that included going to work if you were unable to work from home and the business was still open.

Those companies are now getting going again, which is good.  I strongly suspect any employee refusing to attend could well be in breach of contract and also, if the size of the business contracts, likely to be the first to support that contraction.

There could be exemptions for those that are shielding for example.

Why is it that you don't want to go back?

sharpe106

A company has been closed since the 26th or March, basically since boris announced lockdown. Approx 600 workers all in reasonably close contact have been placed on furlough. 

Although they are connected to the transport  industry, I wouldn’t class is as “essential”,  a word which appears to be hugely subjective. Given the fact that current guidelines are asking non essential companies to remain closed 

What advice that non-essential companies remain closed? Certain types of business had to close to the public not every company. The advice has been quite clear you can carry on working if you can’t work from home.  

They  have been advised that they will be asked to return to work next week. With all the usual promises of Phasing workers back in in small numbers, atPPE, Social  distance etc etc.  

This is going to go on for a long time, some experts suggest until next summer (hopefully not that long). So all companies are going to have to find a way around it 

Scotland’s first minister has just announced a further 3 week extension to the “lockdown”  
iIf an employer asks them to return to work while this lockdown is in place what are the employees rights?  

If you want paying you have to go work basically. 

If they ask them to go back is it mandatory or voluntary? Will they be in breach of contract if they refuse to go back while the government are telling them to stay home? 

That would be up to the company how they wanted to play it. The government is not telling you to stay at home and not go to work unless you work for a business that was told to closed.  

Jayjay08

Grumpy_chap said:

It was only a specific set of businesses (mostly accessed by the public) that were instructed to close.

For everyone else it was, if you can work from home then do, but otherwise you can still go to work if you follow social distancing etc.  Initially a lot of companies that could stay open closed while their management teams worked out how they could get going again with the social distancing etc.  It was "essential travel only" but that included going to work if you were unable to work from home and the business was still open.

Those companies are now getting going again, which is good.  I strongly suspect any employee refusing to attend could well be in breach of contract and also, if the size of the business contracts, likely to be the first to support that contraction.

There could be exemptions for those that are shielding for example.

Why is it that you don't want to go back?

Basically  she doesn’t feel safe, the country has only turned a very small corner, the highest death rate in Europe ?? 

The social distancing is nigh on impossible at the company. People sharing tools, workbenches, toilets, Dining areas, locker rooms etc. 

sharpe106

People have been working all the way through in similar situations. Social distancing is impossible in lots of jobs. If she wants paying she needs to go to work. I doubt the company will carry on claiming otherwise everybody will say the same. 

bradders1983

If the people in the OPs example were only on Universal Credit, would they even be questioning it?
They would be running back as quick as they could. Giving people 80% to do sod all has turned the nation into a workshy nation too lazy to turn Netflix off and go back to work.

As an aside, the anount of people who have misunderstood the governments instructions is amazing.

Jayjay08

sharpe106 said:

A company has been closed since the 26th or March, basically since boris announced lockdown. Approx 600 workers all in reasonably close contact have been placed on furlough. 

Although they are connected to the transport  industry, I wouldn’t class is as “essential”,  a word which appears to be hugely subjective. Given the fact that current guidelines are asking non essential companies to remain closed 

What advice that non-essential companies remain closed? Certain types of business had to close to the public not every company. The advice has been quite clear you can carry on working if you can’t work from home.  

They  have been advised that they will be asked to return to work next week. With all the usual promises of Phasing workers back in in small numbers, atPPE, Social  distance etc etc.  

This is going to go on for a long time, some experts suggest until next summer (hopefully not that long). So all companies are going to have to find a way around it 

Scotland’s first minister has just announced a further 3 week extension to the “lockdown”  
iIf an employer asks them to return to work while this lockdown is in place what are the employees rights?  

If you want paying you have to go work basically. 

If they ask them to go back is it mandatory or voluntary? Will they be in breach of contract if they refuse to go back while the government are telling them to stay home? 

That would be up to the company how they wanted to play it. The government is not telling you to stay at home and not go to work unless you work for a business that was told to closed.  

Well when the country went into “lockdown” they basically said, any company who weren’t directing contributing to the fight against the virus should close. And now companies/people  are playing the “it’s not law” card. 

The stay home/save lives/protect the NHS message? 

If you want payingyou have to go back to work- isn’t that why the government put a furlough scheme in place? , so people can stay at home safe until the virus diminishes somewhat.
As previously said Scotland have the highest infection rate currently and UK has the highest death total in Europe, we turn a slight corner and the company want everyone back in, 

bradders1983

No, they said work from home if possible. You have totally misunderstood it.

If your female acquaintence (wife?) refuses to go back in she will a) likely be dealt with under her employers disciplinary policy, b) possibly be sacked, or c) go straight to the front of the queue for possible redundancies further down the line, marked as "workshy" and/or a "troublemaker" when plenty of others gladly came back and did the job they are paid to do with no arguments. You do understand people cant sit at home for months on end until this vanishes, yes? Who pays for it?

Will your female friend ever be crossing the road again? Or getting behind the wheel or a car? Or walk down a flight of stairs?

If she is truly terrified of going back into work I suggest she resigns, and lets someone else who needs the job do it instead.

Andy_L

sharpe106 said:

A company has been closed since the 26th or March, basically since boris announced lockdown. Approx 600 workers all in reasonably close contact have been placed on furlough. 

Although they are connected to the transport  industry, I wouldn’t class is as “essential”,  a word which appears to be hugely subjective. Given the fact that current guidelines are asking non essential companies to remain closed 

What advice that non-essential companies remain closed? Certain types of business had to close to the public not every company. The advice has been quite clear you can carry on working if you can’t work from home.  

The OP appears to be in Scotland and the Scottish Gov advice does (did?) tell non-essential companies to close unless they could fully comply with social distancing unlike England where it was "if reasonably practicable" to comply

elsien

No, the government put the furlough scheme in place so that workers who may otherwise have been made redundant due to the impact of covid on the business finances get to keep their jobs, not so that people can stay at home for the foreseeable. 
It's a job retention scheme, not an employee "stay at home till you decide you feel safe" scheme.
Keyworker here, so forgive the lack of sympathy. 

sharpe106

At no point have they said do not go to work. They have always said only go out for exercise, work, food, medicine.  They have said it at several briefings you can go to work if you can't work from home. That was never an excuse for everybody to stop working, although granted most companies took it at that. The job retention scheme is to protect jobs hence the name. 
The company wants everybody back as if they do not there will be no jobs to return to.