Workplaces and employer attitudes Megathread

Seve OB

While I agree with her sentiments.

She is not above the law that the majority are obeying. There are many laws which people don’t agree with but they are still the laws of the land and you can’t just make your own rules up because you don’t like them.

She should have the book thrown at her and given hefty fines.

Gloomtastic!

Talking to someone yesterday who cannot get a work permit here because the Department that issues them is shut down. Likewise my daughter cannot apply for a Driver's Learner Permit because the Theory Test centre is no longer operating.

What is happening to the civil servants manning these departments? Have they been seconded to other departments within the CS that are busy or are they just sitting at home?

If it is the latter, are they on PUP or are they still being paid their usual salaries?

Just curious. :rolleyes:

Beasty

Threads merged

nearzero

Has anyone had issues with their employer in getting time off to get vaccinated? I heard a solicitor on the radio saying it was an obligation under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 for an employer to protect the health of employees so they cannot make you take sick leave or dock your wages for the time needed to go get vaccinated?

I'm working from home and my employer has been difficult enough to deal with as it is - I'm nearly afraid to ask! I havent heard how other people have gotten on with it because I'm not in the office but we dont have a huge amount of older staff either.

Fann Linn

color_girl wrote: »

Has anyone had issues with their employer in getting time off to get vaccinated? I heard a solicitor on the radio saying it was an obligation under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 for an employer to protect the health of employees so they cannot make you take sick leave or dock your wages for the time needed to go get vaccinated?

I'm working from home and my employer has been difficult enough to deal with as it is - I'm nearly afraid to ask! I havent heard how other people have gotten on with it because I'm not in the office but we dont have a huge amount of older staff either.

I heard that solicitor also and he was fairly adamant in what he was saying so if it were me I would look through the relevant Act and email the boss a copy. Or else phone anonymously the HSA.

namloc1980

We get a half day to get the vaccine in our place. So for two shots we effectively get a full day off.

I wish I could say it's surprising that there are employers out there who are being difficult on this issue, but some employers just don't give a shiite about their staff.

tiredblondie

For ours we have to make up the time lost!

eviltwin

We got the day of the vaccine and the following day off. No requirement to make the time off up either.

Tiger Roll

Brother works in Tesco ,they gave him the time off to go for the vaccine but wouldn't pay him for the hour. Offered him to work in the hour or take it from his annual leave

Gael23

eviltwin wrote: »

We got the day of the vaccine and the following day off. No requirement to make the time off up either.

We get this too.
I’d say nothing and call in sick

Gregor Samsa

Our company (small US multinational) are giving 16 hours (effectively 2 days) paid vaccination leave, to be used for getting the vaccine or recovering from side effects. Obviously sick leave could be used for the latter too, but this special leave doesn't cut into sick leave allowances or require a cert.

I would have thought it was in employers' interests to encourage staff to get vaccinated, as this is the one action that will facilitate the opening up of the economy. Whatever about employee welfare (which is important in itself), there's a bigger picture related to the bottom line that they would do well to consider.

ClosedAccountFuzzy

Honestly there should be a very large fine and naming and shaming for this.

There’s a pandemic. The vaccines are our only way out of the pandemic.

It should be their legal duty to facilitate vaccination. I can’t see how this even even a discussion given what we’ve just been through and are continuing to go though.

Anything that prevents people getting vaccinated is also going to slow down their businesses and a return to normality.

You’d really wonder about some business people.

The same people and organisations will be moaning if they don’t get state (public) financial support to prop them up too.

Gregor Samsa

^^ here's the full article:



https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/should-work-give-day-time-24160167.amp

EDIT: there was a post above with a screenshot of comments from solicitor Richard Grogan as reported in the Mirror, relating to worker's rights and employer's responsibilities regarding facilitating the vaccine. Above is the full article, which is a transcript from an interview with Matt Cooper.

Here's the original interview from Today FM.

https://www.todayfm.com/podcasts/the-last-word-with-matt-cooper/should-workers-get-time-off-for-their-vaccinations

Fann Linn

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

^^ here's the full article:

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/should-work-give-day-time-24160167.amp

Thanks. Didn't know how to download link?

nearzero

Gael23 wrote: »

We get this too.
I’d say nothing and call in sick

We dont have a paid sick leave scheme, dont come in - dont get paid anyway!

ednwireland

we got 8 hours on our holiday system for covid vaccine you just book the time (paid sick leave as well)

i took 3 hours - 2hour round trip to vaccination centre plus the time for the vaccination

noplacehere

color_girl wrote: »

Has anyone had issues with their employer in getting time off to get vaccinated? I heard a solicitor on the radio saying it was an obligation under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 for an employer to protect the health of employees so they cannot make you take sick leave or dock your wages for the time needed to go get vaccinated?

I'm working from home and my employer has been difficult enough to deal with as it is - I'm nearly afraid to ask! I havent heard how other people have gotten on with it because I'm not in the office but we dont have a huge amount of older staff either.

Teachers have all been told they have to take a sick day as per Information Note TC00132021

Beasty

Threads merged

Fann Linn

noplacehere wrote: »

Teachers have all been told they have to take a sick day as per Information Note TC00132021

Not like the teachers unions to miss a trick. The IR solicitor is sure however that the employer has to provide the time off, if I was affected id be asking the question.

antimatterx

My employer has offered all the employees whichever working environment they want, once the government give the all clear to reopen the office.

You can choose remote FT, office FT it hybrid. They were already kinda remote / cross country working anyway before covid. Everyone was use to zoom etc

noplacehere

Fann Linn wrote: »

Not like the teachers unions to miss a trick. The IR solicitor is sure however that the employer has to provide the time off, if I was affected id be asking the question.

I’m not affected but the teachers unions let a lot slide tbh. Everyone has this perception they are powerful but they really aren’t

jrosen

Ima actually worried about this. Its going to cause huge problems in work. We have been closed for months and are booked solid for the next 10 weeks. I know we will be expected to work back the time to accommodate clients who had apps cancelled.

Seve OB

whats the story if you are given an appointment but can't make it because you have something important scheduled the you cannot miss?
im not talking about work now, i mean, really important... like a game of golf on a fancy course for example that will be a one time only opportunity

tiredblondie

tiredblondie wrote: »

For ours we have to make up the time lost!

So, actually turns out we have to take a half day holidays for this :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Potential-Monke

Howdy all. I don't want to turn this into another deabte thread, but I'm having difficulty finding the information I'm looking for, mainly because I'm probably not using the right buzz words. My work has just decided to send me an updated contract which turns my employment into 50/50 WFH/WFO. They spent the last 18 months telling us how our input was important, and everyone will be heard, yet they just send this on. We're slightly different to most of the employees due to our work hours, shifts and number of staff, which are basically the complete opposite of 99% of the work force (very small team, all unsocial work hours and shift work).

What I'm looking for is the current government advise re: WFH. I basically want to go permanent WFH for a number of reasons, main one being that before Covid I didn't really have a social life anyway, but I was still getting sick every month. I haven't even had so much as a sniffle since March last year, and it's the longest time in my life I haven't been sick, and it's down to, imo, shared office space.

I've been able to WFH successfully, without complaint and with excellent feedback (on reviews) so I can't see any reason to bring me back in. I would be using desks, chairs, computers and peripherals that other people use during the day. I've no doubt that the company are doing all they can* but at the end of the day, they can't control people, the same people who cough into their hands and rub it on the chairs, or use shared equipment with those same hands... When I google, with the way google likes to give results these days, I'm only getting articles from other people.

Any help much appreciated, and I would prefer to just get info rather than a back and forth about the pros/cons of WFH/WFO, please!

*I have doubts

.42.

If your employer is following the governments Work Safely Protocol then your office environment should be safe.

but I don’t think that’s the answer you are looking for.

In truth I think you have found the comforts of WFH and are looking for excuses to not go back into the Office.

If employers want to get people back into the office and meet the Work Safely Protocol then unfortunately your WFH has run out of road as a permanent benefit.

JTMan

The government advise is clear. You should work from home unless it is absolutely necessary to be in the office.

Simply quote this back to your employer.

It is not clear when this will be lifted. Perhaps September but more realistically later.

Right now any employer forcing employees back into the office is going against public health advise.

At a later stage the Right to Work From Home legislation will give the employee the legal right to request to work from home.

Potential-Monke

Cheers folks. Yeah, I understand companies saying to get back to work but I would have hoped it wouldn't be before the government gives a green light to everyone. I was also hoping the legislation would be done in time, but that's looking less likely. September is what they are saying, but I still think it's too soon. And I work by myself about 50% of the time now, so I'd be the only person in a 4 floor building for 12 hours overnight... Makes no sense like!

And rather than missing the comforts of WFH, I just don't want to share stuff with people again. They can't guarantee it, and WFH does work, at least for me/my/my teams role. Must give that protocol a look, see if there's something in it I can use.

hmmm

Even if the right to request to WFH is introduced, I expect it to be very employer-friendly. Ireland inc. has built its economic model on a reputation for being an easy place to do business, and the government might want to be seen as socially progressive but they also aren't going to kill off the golden goose.

So I suppose I personally think that waiting for a "right" or an instruction to WFH isn't going to be a winning strategy. You need to convince your employer to let you do it, and frankly it sounds like they don't particularly care about employee opinions on this, or you can try and move jobs.

fun loving criminal

If it's the sharing of things that has you bothered, can you ask your employer for alcohol wipes to have on your desk. They are great for wiping screens, computers, pens, seats, any object that is shared. I think people should clean their area before and after them if they're in shared spaces.