Advice on increased risks at work

Yahoo_Mail

Concerned75 said:

Lucyjjo said:

Hello, I could really use some advice or thoughts on what anyone else would do in this situation and whether if no further steps are taken to reduce risk, can I refuse to start work if I feel unsafe? am I over reacting or what should I do? 

My workplace is opening again soon and for what should of been 1 job has been made extremely complicated. They are wanting to increase risk when there is no need and other workplaces under the same ownership are not doing what I am being asked to do.  They are increasing risk in a number of areas 1) Requiring close contact working more like 1m in a small space with no fresh ventilation 2) Increasing the exposure to other staff from what should of been 1 fixed team of people they now want to expose us to 2 or 3 more teams of people 3) Increasing the exposure of shared surfaces on a daily basis of things that can't be sanitised. 

Most of the above can be avoided completely, for example one person can be in the workplace at only one time, there is absolutely no workload to need more than one person and the uncleanable surfaces do not need to be shared on the same day shift period. This is creating risk for no good reason and exposing us to too many connections of people. I have raised my concerns and hope they change all of this, but would help to know what I can do if they don't 

I'm guessing here, but it sounds like you work in the private sector, perhaps in a manual working environment, where time and money unfortunately superseeds health and safety, especially now. Sounds like you're in a difficult situation and they might listen to your concerns, but I doubt it. Maybe giving the CAB a call and getting advice from them, might be helpful. After 25yrs on the PAYE system, I'm glad to be self employed now and not having a close working environment to worry about. Hope you can get some good advice. All the best.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/1194E/production/_114941027_optimised-deaths_by_age-nc.png

That's why businesses are "not concerned."  When a fraction of their staff will have a 2.2% chance of snuffing it to COVID, they're not going to shut up shop and pander to all this fearmongering that's going on now.

MalMonroe

MattMattMattUK said:

Largely your option if you do not like it is to resign. None of what they are doing sounds unreasonable, the processes and Covid-secure requirements are not about reducing the risk to zero or even minimising it, but just reducing it to a reasonably low level.

WHAT??? Because jobs are so easy to come by? Don't be silly. 

Yahoo_Mail

MalMonroe said:

Yahoo_Mail said:

The mortality rate from COVID is about 0.5% and it's massively weighted towards the over 70's.  It's a bit higher than a bad flu season but not much. Stop faffing around and go back to work.

If you don't turn up I sincerely hope they sack you.

Wow. What an awful comment. Covid is actually killing younger people more than any other age group. Where on earth have the figures you quote come from? No way is it 'massively weighted towards the over 70s'!

This is from the latest government stats:  https://!!!!!!/347RCqr
"The current infection rates continue to be highest among secondary-school-aged children and 17 to 24-year-olds. There are now signs of growth among 25 to 69-year-olds, but NOT in those aged 70 or older."

Fancy saying you sincerely hope someone is sacked. The OP is genuinely concerned and that is NOT a misplaced concern by any means. You have incorrect information yet you come here telling the OP to get to work. How dare you?

If you read the link, it was from the MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge.  And I got it, as you can tell if you know how URLs work, from the BBC. Not exactly a COVID-denying site.

"Only a tiny fraction of people under the age of 45 die after catching the virus and the risk really picks up after the age of 65."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54570373

You need to be banned, your ridiculous concern-trolling is getting old.

Edit: And NOTHING you quoted has anything to do with mortality rates.  I know this is part of your whole spiel, where you quite hilariously inaccurately quote stuff but it's getting old now.  I urge everyone to report your posts as trolling.  Nobody can be as dense as you.  I don't think it's possible.

MalMonroe

Lucyjjo said:

Thrugelmir said:

You say your workplace is soon to open again. Perhaps complain once you've actually been there. Rather than attempt to second guess. 

Yep, I'm just wondering what is best to do though. If I start and need to resign, what happens if I can't work my notice period? or then again what happens to my notice period if I don't even start? It's quite a long notice period too  

You could try contacting Acas, who deal with all aspects of employment for both employers and employees. They may be busy but it would be worth trying to speak to someone there for some guidance. Why should you have to resign if your employer isn't doing the right thing? Would you be able to get a new job easily? Do you even want a new job? 
Here's the Acas link:  https://www.acas.org.uk/coronavirus
Their phone number : Helpline 0300 123 1100

P.S. Take no notice of the people on here who are being really unhelpful and downright nasty!

Yahoo_Mail

MalMonroe said:

Lucyjjo said:

Thrugelmir said:

You say your workplace is soon to open again. Perhaps complain once you've actually been there. Rather than attempt to second guess. 

Yep, I'm just wondering what is best to do though. If I start and need to resign, what happens if I can't work my notice period? or then again what happens to my notice period if I don't even start? It's quite a long notice period too  

You could try contacting Acas, who deal with all aspects of employment for both employers and employees. They may be busy but it would be worth trying to speak to someone there for some guidance. Why should you have to resign if your employer isn't doing the right thing? Would you be able to get a new job easily? Do you even want a new job? 
Here's the Acas link:  https://www.acas.org.uk/coronavirus
Their phone number : Helpline 0300 123 1100

P.S. Take no notice of the people on here who are being really unhelpful and downright nasty!

ACAS won't care because their employer isn't breaking any laws.  Perhaps you could refer them to the Ombudsman again?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77682460/#Comment_77682460

Anamox

Is your employer a large employer in your area? If so then HSE will be visiting soon, my partner is working in these inspection teams and she's visiting 6-8 companies today and is only working in our town. They are piling pressure on all employers with recommendations, those not complying are getting repeat visits and HSE are digging deeper into the company... every large employer hates the HSE as they're one of the only forces that can shut them down instantly. Hopefully your place will have an inspection soon, their advice is quite strict and won't allow the kind of things you're talking about.

MattMattMattUK

MalMonroe said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Largely your option if you do not like it is to resign. None of what they are doing sounds unreasonable, the processes and Covid-secure requirements are not about reducing the risk to zero or even minimising it, but just reducing it to a reasonably low level.

WHAT??? Because jobs are so easy to come by? Don't be silly. 

My point is that they have no leg to stand on with their want to increase the restrictions in their workplace, so they can either live with it, or resign. That is hardly difficult to understand and the silly part is what they expect their employer to do.

Diamandis

I think your unwillingness to work with one other person is going to be an issue in finding another job. If you have another job to go to or have the means to support yourself until you do then do what you wish but if you don't you should really consider how reasonable you are being. 

bradders1983

Yahoo_Mail said:

MalMonroe said:

Yahoo_Mail said:

The mortality rate from COVID is about 0.5% and it's massively weighted towards the over 70's.  It's a bit higher than a bad flu season but not much. Stop faffing around and go back to work.

If you don't turn up I sincerely hope they sack you.

Wow. What an awful comment. Covid is actually killing younger people more than any other age group. Where on earth have the figures you quote come from? No way is it 'massively weighted towards the over 70s'!

This is from the latest government stats:  https://!!!!!!/347RCqr
"The current infection rates continue to be highest among secondary-school-aged children and 17 to 24-year-olds. There are now signs of growth among 25 to 69-year-olds, but NOT in those aged 70 or older."

Fancy saying you sincerely hope someone is sacked. The OP is genuinely concerned and that is NOT a misplaced concern by any means. You have incorrect information yet you come here telling the OP to get to work. How dare you?

If you read the link, it was from the MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge.  And I got it, as you can tell if you know how URLs work, from the BBC. Not exactly a COVID-denying site.

"Only a tiny fraction of people under the age of 45 die after catching the virus and the risk really picks up after the age of 65."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54570373

You need to be banned, your ridiculous concern-trolling is getting old.

Edit: And NOTHING you quoted has anything to do with mortality rates.  I know this is part of your whole spiel, where you quite hilariously inaccurately quote stuff but it's getting old now.  I urge everyone to report your posts as trolling.  Nobody can be as dense as you.  I don't think it's possible.

I already did last week. The reply I got was basically "we dont care if advice posted is bad advice". So she can crack on it seems.

unholyangel

bradders1983 said:

Yahoo_Mail said:

MalMonroe said:

Yahoo_Mail said:

The mortality rate from COVID is about 0.5% and it's massively weighted towards the over 70's.  It's a bit higher than a bad flu season but not much. Stop faffing around and go back to work.

If you don't turn up I sincerely hope they sack you.

Wow. What an awful comment. Covid is actually killing younger people more than any other age group. Where on earth have the figures you quote come from? No way is it 'massively weighted towards the over 70s'!

This is from the latest government stats:  https://!!!!!!/347RCqr
"The current infection rates continue to be highest among secondary-school-aged children and 17 to 24-year-olds. There are now signs of growth among 25 to 69-year-olds, but NOT in those aged 70 or older."

Fancy saying you sincerely hope someone is sacked. The OP is genuinely concerned and that is NOT a misplaced concern by any means. You have incorrect information yet you come here telling the OP to get to work. How dare you?

If you read the link, it was from the MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge.  And I got it, as you can tell if you know how URLs work, from the BBC. Not exactly a COVID-denying site.

"Only a tiny fraction of people under the age of 45 die after catching the virus and the risk really picks up after the age of 65."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54570373

You need to be banned, your ridiculous concern-trolling is getting old.

Edit: And NOTHING you quoted has anything to do with mortality rates.  I know this is part of your whole spiel, where you quite hilariously inaccurately quote stuff but it's getting old now.  I urge everyone to report your posts as trolling.  Nobody can be as dense as you.  I don't think it's possible.

I already did last week. The reply I got was basically "we dont care if advice posted is bad advice". So she can crack on it seems.

Fair enough some peoples error rate is far higher than others, but on this site we're technically only ever giving opinions rather than reliable advice. If they removed posters for getting things wrong, the site would be empty. Because most people on here give answers based on their opinion rather than any factual basis. 

For example, in this thread the majority responses to the OP were resign or go to work as OP's only options. Which isn't the case. I think only two posts alluded to health & safety being a potential issue. 

An employer has a duty to provide a safe environment for it's staff (and also for clients if they have any on site). If the employer does not, their employees may refuse to attend on those grounds and the employer could then have a very tight rope to walk. If the H&S concern is reasonable then the employer cannot put the employee at a disadvantage (this includes having pay deducted btw) or take any disciplinary action against them. In the first instance, the employer should discuss the concerns with the employee. 

Of course it's a bit more complex than that as not all employers know or care about their H&S obligations while the employee would potentially need to take them to a tribunal & be without pay in the meantime.