Made to work with someone who's ignoring the guidelines

SeagullFTB

I work for a small business. Although working at home is feasible, it's preferable to by both myself and my employer to be in the office. It's far harder to work effectively and efficiently from home.
However, one person insists on ignoring the rules. We are in tier 2 and they have openly said they are going to see family in tier 3 and stay there for a long weekend. Then they'll come straight back to work when they return.
Am I wrong for kicking up a fuss? I know avoiding coronavirus entirely is almost impossible but I don't want to be at an increased risk because other people casually ignore the government guidance. I don't want to risk getting ill just before Christmas. Can I insist on working from home?

gary83

No you can’t insist on working from home, it’s an awkward position to be in but there’s not really a lot you can force to happen. You can ask to work from home but you can’t insist

jon81uk

If they are breaking rules at work, so not following distancing or mask rules put in place by the employer then their manager should take disciplinary action. But if it is things they are doing in their own time then not so much the workplace can do.

strawb_shortcake

I'd rather work with someone that's open about breaking rules than pretending to follow the rules, that way you can take extra precautions to limit your risk

Aranyani

If your office is genuinely secure (2 metre distancing, masks, screens, one way systems, regular cleaning of surfaces, alcohol gel used before and after touching any shared equipment etc) then you are in very little danger even if they do break the rules.  You should be essentially treating everybody as potentially infected anyway regardless of their behaviour!

That said, the current guidance is that anyone who can be working from home should do so until next spring.

Yahoo_Mail

It's guidance. They're free to choose to follow it, or not.  They're choosing not to.

It seems like you're deliberately couching it in a way to make them seem a lot worse than they actually are.  How do you know they're ignoring anything?  Seems to me they've been given advice and they're choosing to go against that advice, something they're free to do (for the time being).

Hopefully, they don't have kids and shop at a supermarket, as those are the two biggest vectors for catching it.

Diamandis

Would you feel the same if they were one of the people entitled to a support bubble? Ensure you take appropriate cautions at work and your risks are very slim. 

Dr_Crypto

Wear a decent mask and try not to get too near him if you’re that worried. I suspect (and there’s evidence to suggest) that many people don’t follow these things correctly even if they do try to keep to the main bulk. At least this person is being honest with you and allowing you to take whatever precautions you want. 

Pollycat

SeagullFTB said:

I work for a small business. Although working at home is feasible, it's preferable to by both myself and my employer to be in the office. It's far harder to work effectively and efficiently from home.
However, one person insists on ignoring the rules. We are in tier 2 and they have openly said they are going to see family in tier 3 and stay there for a long weekend. Then they'll come straight back to work when they return.
Am I wrong for kicking up a fuss? I know avoiding coronavirus entirely is almost impossible but I don't want to be at an increased risk because other people casually ignore the government guidance. I don't want to risk getting ill just before Christmas. Can I insist on working from home?

Are there currently still tiers?

I thought we were all in lockdown.

Or are you talking about after this lockdown ends and you will be in tier 2?

surreysaver

Pollycat said:

SeagullFTB said:

I work for a small business. Although working at home is feasible, it's preferable to by both myself and my employer to be in the office. It's far harder to work effectively and efficiently from home.
However, one person insists on ignoring the rules. We are in tier 2 and they have openly said they are going to see family in tier 3 and stay there for a long weekend. Then they'll come straight back to work when they return.
Am I wrong for kicking up a fuss? I know avoiding coronavirus entirely is almost impossible but I don't want to be at an increased risk because other people casually ignore the government guidance. I don't want to risk getting ill just before Christmas. Can I insist on working from home?

Are there currently still tiers?

I thought we were all in lockdown.

Or are you talking about after this lockdown ends and you will be in tier 2?

We're not in a lockdown. Its a term applied to the current rules by the media. The lockdown was last spring. 

GDB2222

I’m not sure that it matters what you call it. There’s a statutory instrument laying down laws that this guy is breaking. It’s a criminal offence.

There is a summary here
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november