England’s so-called ‘Freedom Day’, the day when all remaining lockdown measures will be lifted, is just around the corner.
This means that life will finally return to normal – with clubs reopening, face mask rules easing, and workers returning to the office.
However, not everyone feels ready to go back to their old lives, as Covid-19 is still rife in the country.
Just weeks ago, the number of coronavirus patients on ventilators in England was at the highest it has been in more than two months.
Additionally, one-third of UK adults are still waiting to get the second dose of their jabs which will inoculate them against the virus.
Now that restrictions are lifting, can your boss force you back to the office?
Metro.co.uk spoke to some legal experts to find out what your rights are.
Can your boss make you go back to work after Freedom Day?
Yes, if you refuse to come into work without a justifiable reason once your workplace has been designated ‘officially safe’, then your boss can fairly sack you.
All employees have the right to request flexible working, such as working from home, but your employer does not have to grant it.
Daniel Barnett, barrister and LBC presenter, explained to Metro.co.uk: ‘Employees don’t generally have the right to work from home. They do have the right to have a request to work from home considered fairly by their employer, but there’s rarely any recourse if the employer says “no”.’
Employers can turn these requests down if they have reasonable cause to do so – however, the absence of this reasonable cause may mean you can make a legal claim against them.
Philip Landau, employment lawyer at Landau Law, explained to Metro.co.uk: ‘If you consider you have been unfairly treated, dismissed or you choose to resign as a result of raising health and safety issues, then you may have a legal claim against your employer.
‘Whether such claim was successful will depend on whether your concerns and beliefs were reasonable and justified.’
However, Mr Launda added: ‘Whether such claim was successful will depend on whether your concerns and beliefs were reasonable and justified.’
What Covid safety measures should companies adhere to?
In England, the current guidance says employers should complete a Covid-19 risk assessment and take steps to prevent transmission before opening up the workplace.
The safety measures are as follows:
- Minimising unnecessary visitors
- Ensuring 2m (6ft) social distancing, or 1m social distancing with additional precautions
- Frequent cleaning
- Extra hand washing facilities
- One-way systems to minimise contact
- Using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible
- Staggering start/end times
On Thursday, just days before the lockdown restrictions are set to be lifted, the government shared updated guidance, which has been slammed as a ‘recipe for chaos’.
After July 19, the government has advised employees to continue wearing face masks and socially distance.
It suggests that plastic screens, back-to-back desks, and ‘fixed teams or partnering’ be kept in place.
Both staff and customers in shops are ‘expected and recommended’ to wear masks, despite them being no longer required by law.
All in all, under the updated guidance, workplaces will likely look much the same as they do already.
This last-minute advice to keep the majority of safety measures in place has caused confusion among staff and employers alike – and many are demanding that the rules for returning to work after July 19 should be made clearer.
The head of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), General Secretary Frances O’Grady, called on the Government to consult with unions and employers on workplace safety guidance to avoid ‘widespread confusion’.
O’Grady said details around face masks in workplaces must also be clarified, along with changes to rules on sick pay and enshrining rights to flexible working in law.
She added: ‘As the work from home guidance ends, employers must acknowledge that one size does not fit all.
‘No one should miss out on flexible working. Ministers must bring in a new right to flexible working for every worker, in every job.
‘Otherwise, there will be a new class divide between those who can work flexibly from home, and those who can’t.’
What should you do if you feel unsafe in the workplace due to Covid?
If employees feel unsafe, they can contact their local authority, Citizens Advice, or the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The HSE has carried out over 200,000 inspections to check companies are following Covid-19 rules, and can force firms to take action if not.
For people who are hesitant against returning to work because they are immunocompromised, Mr Landau says: ‘An employer would almost certainly have to consider what reasonable adjustments should be made if someone has a disability or medical condition which puts them at greater risk of catching Covid by returning to the workplace.
‘A failure to do so may give rise to a discrimination claim where the damages are uncapped.’
He went on to explain that working from home may be labeled as a ‘reasonable adjustment’.
For those who have not yet had the opportunity to get their second dose, for example, those who are under the age of 25, Mr Landau explains that negotiating to work from home may be a little trickier.
He explained: ‘For the under 25s who may not yet have had their second dose of vaccines by July 19, again it will boil down to whether they are acting reasonably if they have a general health fear of going back to work without any underlying medical reason.
‘If all reasonable health and safety steps have been by an employer, it will ultimately be difficult for young persons to stand their ground, although it is possible an age discrimination argument could be made.
‘This would be on the basis that younger people have been put at a disadvantage because of a policy requiring all workers to return.
‘It is too early, however, for any such cases to have been tested in the employment tribunal.’
Christopher Golby, Director & Co-Founder of mental health platform Lumien, explained to Metro.co.uk that some anxiety around Freedom Day is to be expected.
He said: ‘It is important to remember that feelings of anxiety are part of our ancient survival system and that they are designed to give us an early warning about a potential threat. To that extent, feeling anxious is a normal response to stress and can help us to “gear up” to deal with a challenge.’
These feelings of anxiety should pass once you get back into the swing of things.
However, Golby added: ‘If you think that you may be experiencing symptoms of longer-term anxiety, you may find it useful to seek help and advice from your GP.’
MORE : Face masks to remain compulsory on London buses and Tube despite Freedom Day
MORE : ‘Freedom Day’ is a farce – I fear catching Covid more than ever before
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