£60 fine for not working from home when you can

Listen here now to hear the recording of HR Anchor’s Elissa Thursfield discussing the £60 fine for not working from home when you can.

Nobody has been fined yet

It is one of the most cited laws by employees

It is the least used by enforcement officers

It appears unfair that someone could be fined for going to work when employers ask employees to come to work

There is a £1000 fine for employers if they ask employees to come to work when they could work from home.

“What this law does, it says is we don’t trust employers to do what’s sensible, do risk assessments, look at people’s roles to decide who should be in and who shouldn’t be in. You’re relying on an enforcement officer, potentially at the side of the road to make that decision without knowing anything about that business. It just doesn’t work.”

Businesses have been concerned, employees were scared to come to work through fear of being stopped on the way to work and being fined before Christmas.

It has caused quite a lot of unrest.

Working from home is now quite a normal thing but for some it’s just not possible to work from home.

What are the employees rights?

Employees have the right to a safe place of work – Employers have to ensure the health and safety of their staff is paramount when they are at work. Therefore if the workplace is safe and they can’t work from home then it’s acceptable for them to go to work.

There are also employees whose mental health has taken a battering whilst working from home, they are isolated, they are struggling, they are juggling duties and working from home isn’t particularly safe for them.

There is a lot to be considered by employers here when they are making these decisions.

Police can stop you and ask you where you’re going. You can be fined if you say you’re going to work but if you say you’re going to the pub there is no problem.

It doesn’t seem to be very well thought through and makes little sense. It hasn’t been popular with anyone and is just frightening employees.

 

 

Listen to more BBC Radio Wales appearances

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17th August 2021 Elissa live on BBC Radio Wales – Listen Now (hranchor.co.uk)