Can I return to work? From furlough changes to workplace rules, here’s all you need to know
BRITS are being urged to get back to work so we explain all you need to know including furlough changes and office rules.
It comes as the Transport Secretary today told workers it’s safe for them to return to the office as home working “has its limits”.
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Can I return to work or should I still work from home?
The government ditched the work from home slogan on August 1 but many employees are still working from home.
As children return to school next week, Boris Johnson is warning parents should do the same and get back to normality or risk losing their jobs.
The PM worries that empty offices will slow the country’s progress and leave employees more vulnerable to being let go.
Yet many firms have already told staff they won’t return until September.
If you’re keen to get back to the office, speak to your employer and make an agreement that suits you both.
A few months ago, the government announced that workers who can’t do their jobs from home, such as those in construction or manufacturing, “should be actively encouraged to go to work”.
Employment expert Gary Rycroft of online complaints tool Resolver said it’s “reasonable” for an employer to ask employees who aren’t able to do their job from home to return to work.
How much notice does employers have to give?
There is no legal requirement of how much notice an employer must give you before calling you back to work.
But they are expected to be reasonable.
Michele Piertney, senior adviser of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), told The Sun: “The coronavirus crisis will impact everyone in different ways so there’s nothing set in employment law outlining a minimum period to return to work during a health pandemic.
“Employees and workers should be ready to return to work at short notice and employers should be flexible where possible.
“Our advice is that bosses should talk to staff about returning to work.
“Many workers may be anxious about going back to work and so it is good practice to involve them in discussions about possible risks at work and what they can do to reduce these concerns.”
What if I don’t think it’s safe?
Employers have a legal duty to keep staff safe when they’re at work.
Under Section 100 of the Employments Rights Act 1996, employees have the right to leave their jobs immediately if there is an imminent threat to health and safety.
“In the current situation, a failure for employers to provide for adequate social distancing measures in place could well equate to a reason to leave the place of work and return home,” said Mr Rycroft.
“Employees in a union may well get support for such a grievance.”
If you’re worried that your employer isn’t taking all practical steps to promote social distancing at work, you should report them to your local authority.
What rules do offices have to follow to make them safe?
Before opening again, offices have to undertake a health and safety risk assessment to make sure they’re Covid secure.
Here are some of the rules employers have to follow to keep staff safe when they’re at work:
- Stagger working shifts to have fewer people in the office
- Provide hand washing facilities
- Make sure there are fewer staff in the same room and lifts
- Ensure workers can social distance
- Provide workers’ with their own equipment so they don’t have to share with colleagues, including pens
- Increase the ventilation in the building
Can I use public transport?
Yes, the government last month said it’s safe to go back on trains, buses and public transport again after the coronavirus crisis.
Although, the PM suggested Brits should use other modes of transport if possible.
Public transport will also be following strict COVID-secure standards, including requiring passengers to cover their nose and mouths with a face mask.
What happens if I can’t get public transport?
If you’re disabled, for example, and can’t use public transport, you may be eligible for other support schemes, including free taxi vouchers.
You can find out more information on the NHS and Citizens Advice websites.
Can my employer fire me if I don’t want to go back to work?
Firstly, it remains the case that anyone who has coronavirus symptoms, however mild, or is in a household where someone has symptoms, should not leave their house to go to work.
These people should self-isolate, as should those in their households under government guidelines.
You can claim statutory sick pay (SSP) for this and afterwards your job should be open for you to come back to following self-isolation.
The government this week also announced low-income workers who have to self-isolate will be given £182 as financial support.
Where you’re not ill but you’re concerned about your safety in the office or on route to the office, talk to your employer.
Mr Rycroft said that employees can expect to have their legitimate and reasonable concerns listened to, both before they return, and on an ongoing basis.
If someone still doesn’t want to go back to work, they may be able to arrange with their employer to take the time off as holiday or unpaid leave.
But the employer doesn’t have to agree to this, ACAS said.
If you can’t reach an agreement with your employer and you refuse to attend work without a valid reason, Mr Rycroft said this can in theory lead to your dismissal.
What if I’m vulnerable and shielding or living with someone who is?
The government paused the shielding of vulnerable Brits from August 1.
Vulnerable people are instead being asked to adopt strict social distancing rather than full shielding measures.
On June 5, the government said people who were shielding could leave their home, if they wanted to.
However, they urged them do so with precaution and to maintain strict social distancing.
Those who were previously told to follow shielding advice can now return to work as long as the workplace is Covid-secure, but should carry on working from home wherever possible.
Those deemed as vulnerable as also able to go outside as much as they like but you should still try to keep overall social interactions low.
Forcing a vulnerable person to go into work could be argued as “unfair and in some cases discriminatory”, said Mr Rycroft.
But living with someone who’s at high risk is not necessarily a reason an employee can refuse to return to work.
He added: “However, you can, as an employee, raise a grievance and ask to be listened to and hopefully a compromise may be agreed, such as unpaid leave or using up annual holiday, but if an employer can show that a workplace is safe, the employer may insist on an employee attending.”
What happens if I can’t get childcare?
If your kids haven’t yet returned to school, employees who are able to work from home should continue to do so.
But where you’re not ill and your workplace has reopened, and you can’t work from home, you will be expected to go in.
If your kids are off, the current rules on being entitled to take time off work to look after children – without facing disciplinary action or losing your job – still stand.
There are two scenarios here that can be used – “dependant leave” which allows mums and dads to take time off to deal with an unexpected problem or an emergency, and unpaid leave.
There are no limits on how many times you can take time off for dependant leave, but under unpaid leave the limit is usually four weeks a year until your child turns 18, unless your employer says otherwise.
Unpaid leave does what it says on the tin – it’s time off that you’re not paid for.
With dependent leave, whether you’re paid is down to your employer.
Workers may also be able to negotiate taking holiday or lieu days to look after children – but again, it’s up to your boss.
The government says it expects people to go back to work where possible and for employers to be as “flexible as possible” although it hasn’t put any hard and fast rules in place.
Whether you are allowed to work from home or not will depend on your employer, but you must have been with the same one for at least 26 weeks.
Employers must assess the advantages and disadvantages.
Flexible working can include working from home, flexible hours known as “flexitime”, and job sharing.
Can I be forced to take holiday?
Your employer can ask you to take annual leave, but it should give you notice.
This is usually double the amount of time they want you to have off.
For example, if they want you to use five days’ worth of your holiday allowance, they should give you ten days’ notice.
You may be able to carry over any unused holiday days, but the decision will ultimately be down to your employer.
The government has introduced a temporary law allowing workers to carry over up to four weeks’ paid holiday over a two-year period.
This has been designed for staff who’ve been affected by coronavirus – for example, those who’ve had to self-isolate or key workers who’ve had to cancel holiday so they can keep working.
But again, it’ll be up to your employer to allow you to do this – they don’t have to let you carry holiday over.
How furlough has changed
The coronavirus job retention scheme is designed to keep workers employed by helping businesses pay staff wages.
Initially, the furlough scheme saw the government pay 80 per cent of the wages, capped at £2,500 a month, of employees who are unable to work.
From July 1, your employer could then furlough you part-time.
This applied as long as you’d been furloughed for at least three weeks between March 1 and June 30.
So if you normally work five days a week, you can be furloughed for three days and work the remaining two.
From August, employers started stumping up some of the costs of furloughed workers, starting with paying National Insurance and pension contributions.
Then from September, businesses who continue to furlough employees will have to pay 10 per cent of their wages, and 20 per cent in October.
The government will pay 70 per cent of wages in September and 60 per cent in October.
Can employers take you off furlough without any notice?
If your employer is taking you off furlough to bring you back to work, there is no minimum notice period, said the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
It means you’ll need to be prepared to go back to work as soon as your boss asks you to, as long as the three weeks have passed.
However, Tom Neil, senior adviser at ACAS, also told The Sun “good practice would be for employers to be having conversations as early as possible with staff”.
This includes conversations around plans to return to work and when that is likely to be.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) told The Sun that it’s advised employers to seek a written agreement with staff to be furloughed.
And even if your boss put in a clause allowing them to call you into work immediately, CIPD is recommending them to give you at least 48 hours of notice.
This is important in order to help people who may have childcare or other responsibilities that they need to arrange, it added.
Can your employer cut your wages?
Your employer may look at reducing your pay in an attempt to reduce their overheads if they’re struggling to stay afloat due to coronavirus.
If this is the case, then they must ask for your consent first – it’s illegal in the UK to impose a reduction without permission.
Let’s say your employer has cut your pay without asking you first, there are two options for you.
You can either resign and then make a claim against the company for unfair dismissal.
Or your can remain working in your job “under protest” and claim compensation from your employer to cover their loss of earnings.
You are completely within your rights to refuse a drop in wages but if your employer can’t afford to keep you on at your current pay, then it may look to end your contract completely.
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Can my hours be reduced?
Employers can only tell you to reduce your hours if it’s already outlined in your contract saying that they can.
If not, then they can’t force shorter hours and cut your pay as a result without consulting you first.
You can refuse your employers proposals but they may also look to end your contract completely if the can’t afford to keep you on.
There must be a fair consultation period before they do this.
Can I apply for another job?
The government allows furloughed employees to take second jobs, but some employers don’t so make sure you double-check your contract first.
If you are doing anything that provides revenue or services to your employer while furloughed, you may be committing a criminal offence.
If this happens, complain to your boss in writing and if you are ignored, complain directly to HMRC.
You can still apply for any future permanent jobs while you are furloughed.
What if I’m made redundant?
Even though furlough is designed to keep workers employed, unfortunately it doesn’t protect you from being made redundant.
But it doesn’t affect your redundancy pay rights if you are let go from your job amid the coronavirus crisis.
Your employer should still carry out a fair redundancy process.
You will be entitled to be consulted on the redundancy lay-off first and to receive a statutory redundancy payment, as long as you’ve been working somewhere for at least two years.
How much you’re entitled to depends on your age and length of service, although this is capped at 20 years. You’ll get:
- Half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22,
- One week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41,
- One and half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older.
Sadly, you won’t be entitled to a payout if you’ve been working for your employer for fewer than two years.
There should be a period of collective consultation as well as time for individual ones if your employer wants to make 20 or more employees redundant within 90 days or each other.
You are also entitled to appeal the decision by claiming unfair dismissal within three months of being let go.