Please delete

Thrugelmir

If he doesn't turn up for work then could simply be treated as unpaid leave. The company could then in time, following due process, terminate his contract. 
Not leaving the house for 7 months suggests far greater issues now than Covid. 

MalMonroe

Paully28 said:

Can he not retire, assuming he is closer to 66 than not, and just draw out the process until he reaches as near as possible to 66, whilst also looking into benefits system in case he is working as he thinks he cannot afford to retire? 

It doesn't matter what age he is, whether he is near retirement age or not, he has to be treated like any other employee and also has to act like any other employee. Anything else is Age Discrimination. 

MalMonroe

chris1 said:

Asking for a family member who’s been furloughed. He is over 65 and has not left the house for 7 months. Although he worked from home at the start of the pandemic, this is no longer allowed and he has to return to the workplace, but is too concerned to do so.
He has written to request working from home and laid out his physical and mental health concerns, but the boss is insistent.
What would you advise?

Age doesn't come into it at all apart from the fact that your family member will be able to retire with a state pension if he's coming up to 66. (As someone who's self-employed and has just turned 70, that really sounds like a spring chicken to me!)

The furlough scheme doesn't end until 31 October and he should really talk to his employer rather than write letters, expressing his concern. He really does need to find out what safety measures are in place at work. His employer should have discussed this with all employees, as indicated in the link from Acas below.

https://www.acas.org.uk/working-safely-coronavirus/returning-to-the-workplace

MalMonroe

getmore4less said:

Why has he not left the house,  there are plenty of activities that are perfectly safe even shielding people could go out.

Have they made the workplace covid safe  ask to see the risk assessment.

How much holiday has been accrued that could be used to cover some of the notice period.

How long has he worked there.

I'm 70 and I haven't left the house either! It's quite understandable, when you are not as young as you used to be and there's a killer virus out there. 

MalMonroe

Mrsn said:

Honestly at this point at least have an open conversation with the employer regarding their risk assessment and how they have made the work place COVID secure.

Even if he went down the resignation route how would have to work the notice period however long that might be, and the employer clearly wants them in the work place so we know WFH isn’t going to be an option for even just the notice period.

Going forward 7 months keeping yourself locked away isn’t healthy, I don’t mean that unkindly (I have auto immune conditions that make me vulnerable generally and even I haven’t done that) What is the reason they have not left the house for that long? This needs addressing also.

I've not left the house for 7 months either, and I'm very healthy both physically and mentally. I work for myself from home and fortunately for me, have been kept very busy. I'm in the age group which makes me vulnerable and the daughter I live with is also vulnerable. We go short walks around our garden - but that is it. Nothing needs addressing and we aren't weird. Same goes for the OP's family member.

RedfordML

As worried and scared as he feels now, if he continues in a bubble for much longer and not leave the house, his quality of life is done. Needs to go back for the sake of his own mental state. 

Undervalued

RedfordML said:

As worried and scared as he feels now, if he continues in a bubble for much longer and not leave the house, his quality of life is done. Needs to go back for the sake of his own mental state. 

Yes but not necessarily to a work situation in which he feels unsafe.

Given that he is close to retirement age unless finance is an overriding issue he may be better to come to an arrangement and retire then find some activities that he is comfortable doing. 

Comms69

MalMonroe said:

getmore4less said:

Why has he not left the house,  there are plenty of activities that are perfectly safe even shielding people could go out.

Have they made the workplace covid safe  ask to see the risk assessment.

How much holiday has been accrued that could be used to cover some of the notice period.

How long has he worked there.

I'm 70 and I haven't left the house either! It's quite understandable, when you are not as young as you used to be and there's a killer virus out there. 

It's a killer virus, in the same way the flu is a killer virus. 

TBagpuss

RedfordML said:

As worried and scared as he feels now, if he continues in a bubble for much longer and not leave the house, his quality of life is done. Needs to go back for the sake of his own mental state. 

In fairness, this depends hugely on the individual. Some people are pretty self-sufficient and find being alone or having very limited social contact much less difficult than others. 
And it also depends on the workplace, and co-workers.  Some are far more 'covid secure' than others.

While it is true that people die of flu, Covid is significantly more dangerous with a higher mortality rate and fewer effective treatments 

getmore4less

Comms69 said:

MalMonroe said:

getmore4less said:

Why has he not left the house,  there are plenty of activities that are perfectly safe even shielding people could go out.

Have they made the workplace covid safe  ask to see the risk assessment.

How much holiday has been accrued that could be used to cover some of the notice period.

How long has he worked there.

I'm 70 and I haven't left the house either! It's quite understandable, when you are not as young as you used to be and there's a killer virus out there. 

It's a killer virus, in the same way the flu is a killer virus. 

This is the main point from the recent ONS report

• Of all death occurrences between January and August 2020, there were 48,168 deaths due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) compared with 13,619 deaths due to pneumonia and 394 deaths due to influenza.