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Work Help!

S

Spursman

Neil Sullivan
Hi all,

Lots of smart people on this forum so im after some advice.

My Mrs is currently shielding and her company have offered her the chance to work from home. She is more than willing to work from home as it means she gets full pay. She only works part time and her hours are 1pm -9pm.

The company said they will deliver her the equipment needed. Turns out they want to send a desktop PC. There is no desk area available and because of the hours we cant put it in one of the kids bedrooms as they need to be in bed by 7/8 and she works up till 9am (they wont change her hours) I don't live in a massive house and space is limited.

We have 2 small kids and setting up a desktop in some makeshift area will not work. She has requested a laptop so she can move around to get away from the kids and work where she can. They said they cant provide one and have marked her down absent from work and will proceed with a disciplinary.

Is this appropriate? they haven't done any risk assessment of our property and haven't provided any work at home safety forms.

Where does she stand with this? to me, they haven't provided the adequate equipment to enable her to work.

ACAS have advised her to open a grievance against the company.

Thoughts?
 
Spursman said:
Hi all,

Lots of smart people on this forum so im after some advice.

My Mrs is currently shielding and her company have offered her the chance to work from home. She is more than willing to work from home as it means she gets full pay. She only works part time and her hours are 1pm -9pm.

The company said they will deliver her the equipment needed. Turns out they want to send a desktop PC. There is no desk area available and because of the hours we cant put it in one of the kids bedrooms as they need to be in bed by 7/8 and she works up till 9am (they wont change her hours) I don't live in a massive house and space is limited.

We have 2 small kids and setting up a desktop in some makeshift area will not work. She has requested a laptop so she can move around to get away from the kids and work where she can. They said they cant provide one and have marked her down absent from work and will proceed with a disciplinary.

Is this appropriate? they haven't done any risk assessment of our property and haven't provided any work at home safety forms.

Where does she stand with this? to me, they haven't provided the adequate equipment to enable her to work.

ACAS have advised her to open a grievance against the company.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I think the main thing is for her to hang onto her job if at all possible the next couple of years could be fraught.

Can you lease a laptop yourselves?
 
Have to be pragmatic in this kind of situation. Do you have a personal laptop at home she can use? Don't give them an excuse to sack her, if she wants to keep the job. Some companies will be looking to downsize and are aware it shouldn't be too difficult to recruit in the coming months. Though, at the moment, she may have some leverage, as it is not so easy to recruit and train people during lockdown either.
 
Go back to them and say ok, you will find space for the pc but they need to send you a desk, chair with back support and monitor riser too, also, an ergonomic keyboard, if they can’t facilitate a laptop she can use sitting on the bed.

If I am expected to work from home I expect access to the tools to do so.
 
johnola said:
I think the main thing is for her to hang onto her job if at all possible the next couple of years could be fraught.

Can you lease a laptop yourselves?
Click to expand...

doesn’t seem like they can set up the system on a laptop. We have one here we can use. She works for a call centre.

I just think it’s weird that if a company want someone to work from home they can’t provide appropriate equipment.
 
Spursman said:
doesn’t seem like they can set up the system on a laptop. We have one here we can use. She works for a call centre.

I just think it’s weird that if a company want someone to work from home they can’t provide appropriate equipment.
Click to expand...

Sounds like her manager being a clam. Get her to speak to the it man.
 
Spursman said:
Hi all,

Lots of smart people on this forum so im after some advice.

My Mrs is currently shielding and her company have offered her the chance to work from home. She is more than willing to work from home as it means she gets full pay. She only works part time and her hours are 1pm -9pm.

The company said they will deliver her the equipment needed. Turns out they want to send a desktop PC. There is no desk area available and because of the hours we cant put it in one of the kids bedrooms as they need to be in bed by 7/8 and she works up till 9am (they wont change her hours) I don't live in a massive house and space is limited.

We have 2 small kids and setting up a desktop in some makeshift area will not work. She has requested a laptop so she can move around to get away from the kids and work where she can. They said they cant provide one and have marked her down absent from work and will proceed with a disciplinary.

Is this appropriate? they haven't done any risk assessment of our property and haven't provided any work at home safety forms.

Where does she stand with this? to me, they haven't provided the adequate equipment to enable her to work.

ACAS have advised her to open a grievance against the company.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Employers are required as a part of this while process to risk assess working from home. That includes everything from the standard ergonomic measures to regular mental health checkups, etc.

I've sent desktops home with people in the last couple of months as we didn't have nearly enough laptops for everybody. They all volunteered though as they were in a position to accommodate.

I'd say the employer would be required to provide a working desk chair with the computer if you don't have one at home.
 
johnola said:
Sounds like her manager being a clam. Get her to speak to the it man.
Click to expand...

Or woman.

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They can’t sack her because she can’t do her job because they don’t have the ability to protect at work (she is shielding so has a reason, and I assume a letter from the NHS/GOV)
The issue is I believe she is entitled to the equivalent of furlough pay if she cannot work he normal job from home and that’s pay for a limited period currently under Furlough
What I’d add is you need really need to show as much flexibility about the working from home thing as possible as they will say she has made the job untenable by default and all though would lose the case... it’s a long process with everything needed to be clear
 
Thanks for your comments all.

Scara, you said you sent some desktops home to staff, what if one said sorry I haven’t got the space I need a laptop. Then you said we don’t have any you’ll have to take the desktop? You then said I want to work but need suitable equipment. Boss now not returning her call and she’s been reported as absent and they don’t come back to her.

she has said. I want to work. I just need the right equipment.
 
she has asked them to come to the house to look for themselves. We have nothing to hide and she’d rather be working. All she wants is a laptop. She’s doing the hours they want her to do even though her requested hours were rejected after coming off maternity leave.
 
Spursman said:
Thanks for your comments all.

Scara, you said you sent some desktops home to staff, what if one said sorry I haven’t got the space I need a laptop. Then you said we don’t have any you’ll have to take the desktop? You then said I want to work but need suitable equipment. Boss now not returning her call and she’s been reported as absent and they don’t come back to her.

she has said. I want to work. I just need the right equipment.
Click to expand...
We have people what they told us they needed because it was cheaper and less complicated than having someone go to their houses and risk assess all their individual workstations.

Even ended up reinstalling a few old laptops myself to get them done in time.

Take a look at steps 3, 4 & 5 here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working...id-19/offices-and-contact-centres#offices-2-1

All legislation is open to interpretation, but I interpreted step 5 to mean that I could ask the employee what was a safe and effective way for them to work and then build around that. It avoided having to visit and assess ourselves that way.
 
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