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Workplaces and employer attitudes Megathread

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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,333 ✭✭✭✭Potential-Monke


    That is an option, but why when there's another more appropriate option? Or individually assigned desks? But that can't happen because it's part of the "fit as many people as possible in" companies. The days of desk sharing should be well gone after this imo. Last call centre environment I worked in had individually assigned desks, because they actually looked forward and got a place with enough space.

    Also, if there are no wipes available, can I not work then? I amy be sounding pedantic, but not getting so much as a sniffle in 18 months compared to a chest infection once a month and cold/flu symptoms aside from that... My health is more important now, and if the company really cared about me, like they pretend to do, then I can't see why they would force me back in with alternative viable options available.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,496 ✭✭✭fun loving criminal


    I completely agree with you and I hope you find a way to continue to work from home. Employers shouldn't be putting our health at risk here.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,333 ✭✭✭✭Potential-Monke


    I shall update with the outcome!



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 83,708 ✭✭✭✭Atlantic Dawn
    M


    Only issue I see for employer would be if they facilitate 100% working from home for you and then later down the line you decide for whatever reason that you can't work from home it shouldn't be expected that you would be then accommodated with a desk in the office. I think that's fair enough from both points of view, could lead to you possibly having to resign as you won't be able to fulfil duties.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,333 ✭✭✭✭Potential-Monke


    I'd be on board with that. That'd be fair enough imo.


    Edit: Boom! D7 for the win!

    D7. Working from home All staff should continue to work from home to the greatest extent possible. The employer should develop and consult on any working from home policy in conjunction with workers and/or Trades Unions. Guidance on Working from Home is available from the HSA. Resilience and Recovery: the Path Ahead plan, continues to recommend that only essential workers or other designated workers should attend the workplace. 

    Post edited by Potential-Monke on


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  • Registered Users Posts: 165 ✭✭Marymoore


    When people return to work, will they continue to wear masks in offices? When will that end?

    also for employers asking employees to come back, is it possible to request to continue working from home? I know there’s no legislation around it yet



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 77 ✭✭CalisGirl


    We've been told September, but that depends on government advice at the time. So nothing definite until formal government advice that it's safe to go into offices. Having said that, it'll likely be 1 day a week in the office permanently as it worked so well. I'm early on my career so I'd like more office time.



  • Registered Users Posts: 8,239 ✭✭✭Pussyhands


    Some American companies, who also have staff working outside of America have said staff must be vaccinated to return to the office yet they don't apply the same rules in their Irish offices?

    Why is that?

    Are unvaccinated people less dangerous in Ireland than America?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,786 ✭✭✭mohawk


    American laws don’t apply in Ireland.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,986 ✭✭✭✭banie01


    Employment law and the right of a company to impose a requirement on employees differ greatly between the USA and Ireland.

    It's nothing to do with unvaccinated people being less dangerous anywhere. It's the politicisation of mandates and the lack of employment protection and personal rights across USA v Ireland and the majority of Europe.

    But a spectacularly shít hot take there, that raised a chuckle so there's that.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 16 tbaygirl2008


    Is anyone else's employer refusing to reopen the office due to high case numbers?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,709 ✭✭✭whippet


    I'm sure there are plenty. My employer has restricted who can and can't go to the office .. the last thing they want is to have a number of employees out at the same time with covid



  • Posts: 8,856 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Guidance right now is work from home if you can and also with rising numbers there is talk in today’s papers/ news around mandatory working from home being introduced so I don’t see why that’s an issue for you right now- your employer is helping stem the tide of a rise in cases- Shirley a good thing?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,570 ✭✭✭celt262


    Does that make sense with Nightclubs open to full capacity ?


    I know the less interaction we have the better but whats the point !



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,083 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    i know a small start up that has decided to put off going back to the office till next year, good call, as others have said, a small company cannot afford to have even a couple of people out sick at the same time



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,462 ✭✭✭Tork


    I'm guessing OP has a reason for preferring to be in the office, perhaps because of limited work space at home?

    We're all back WFH apart from a handful of people who are needed on site. They're staggering the days so that they don't meet.

    It seems daft I guess but people who go to nightclubs are doing it voluntarily. They're also being asked to be more careful about who they meet in the days after they go (i.e. grandparents). It's harder to avoid going to work or to be near Mary and John who were out clubbing two nights ago.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,203 ✭✭✭partyguinness


    It will also acclerate 'hotdesking'. I know a numberr of professional services firms that had consdered moving to larger premises pre Covid have stalled such plans. Makes sense. Just juggle between home working and office based and it allows them to take on extra staff without the huge outlay of moving premises.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,330 ✭✭✭Former Former Former


    A significant proportion of people of working age never go to nightclubs.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,203 ✭✭✭partyguinness


    It's beyond me why anyone would want to go to a nightclub. Then again I have zero interest in dancing and I am not 20.



  • Registered Users Posts: 23 quazzy1


    Yes, because nightclubs are not viable unless they are busy and people in the hospitality and entertainment industries don't have the luxury of being able to work from home. It's about getting as many people back to work as possible, while mitigating where possible. If you have the option of working from home, it's probably no harm to help reduce spread. However, there's not much you can do with nightclubs etc. apart from shutting them down completely, which wouldn't look great, especially since they've been closed for so long.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,462 ✭✭✭Tork


    You've also got working people who've got children at school and we know what's happening there. I think we've gone past the stage of shutting things down again à la 2020, so we're seeing all sorts of weird and wonderful contradictions. I don't believe the government want kids off school or businesses forcibly closed and people back on PUP again. So we're trying to live with Covid and stay open despite the case numbers. Keeping people out of workplaces where possible is an easy win. Especially when you consider that in many workplaces, you've got people from varying age groups with differing circumstances. You could easily have people who are socialising in bars and nightclubs sharing a workplace with parents of primary school kids, people with elderly parents, people who have underlying health conditions etc. The virus needs hosts to continue its spread. Staying home helps break the chain to some extent. And as has already been mentioned upthread, employers don't want sick employees. Why go looking for trouble if it can be avoided?



  • Registered Users Posts: 16 tbaygirl2008


    Office has space for 400 people, 20 or so staff would like to go back to the office for various reasons so there would be plenty of room for safe distance between all of them. Government guidelines say return to the workplace should continue on a phased and staggered basis but employer has refused to allow return to office based on the recent spikes. I was just wondering if there were similar cases out there. I have only heard the opposite where employers are insisting staff return.



  • Posts: 8,856 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Sorry my original Post above looked like I was getting at you- I wasn’t- just more asking a question but not very well put.

    it’s probably the worst time right now to start planning returning to work given the spike in cases- so I can understand your employers reluctance. My company is still very much in the “only significant business reasons” space for working in the office- we won’t be getting back to the office until at least February I’d say at this point



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    I'd happily swap with you OP, my employer has forced us back in.

    The current guidance is contradictory. It says that the return to the office can continue on a phased basis, but it also says that people should WFH where possible and only attend the office for specific business reasons such as training. So it seems to me that employers who are bringing people back for the sake of it are going against the guidelines.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,125 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    You know that some people are victims of domestic violence at home?

    Or have small children or elders with dementia being cared for in the house, so cannot get a quiet spot to work in?

    Or are homeless and simply cannot stay in the BnB during the day?



  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,914 Mod ✭✭✭✭shesty


    No in our place they are asking you try to do a day a week,they have a desk booking system and only so many of the desks are available to book, to ensure spacing between everyone. That only started in mid-September there.Office was completely off-limits up to then



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 834 ✭✭✭Heart Break Kid


    These are all unique but valid issues but rather than coming up with what if situations, try to provide a solution.

    1: Call the guards & see the following link https://www.garda.ie/en/crime/domestic-abuse/domestic-abuse.html

    2: Where would the children be if you weren't at work? Can you send them to day care? Is there any camps or after school. Also could you go to a library and work there for a bit? https://www.dublincity.ie/library/blog/computer-access-and-study-space-browse-and-borrow-libraries

    3: Talk to someone, if your not comfortable to talk to your employer about it, talk to a friend or another colleague, see if someone could help with a space your could work from. Unfortunately now, it might be time to speak up. Also would working from a library work?

    If you need a dedicated workspace and can't find any at home, would you consider renting some office space like a desk in a shared office. Everyone is saving money from not driving into work every day, could this be put towards this?



  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,932 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Seems an entirely reasonable approach by me. An employer would need to enforce spacing, mask wearing and the like within the office. They may feel the need to completely change the office configuration to accommodate workers in the workplace

    Presumably you are working from home and getting paid for doing so?

    My work gives us the choice. An office of up to 50, but when I've been in there's only ever been 1 or 2 others. They have spent a lot just to accommodate that though



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,125 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Individual, but not at all unique: I've had 4 colleagues (that I know of) with these or similar since March 2020. Three found their own solutions not involving the office. One wasn't able to: the ONLY way she can work is in the office. Thankfully her employer is smart enough to realise this, and hasn't unilaterally closed the building. Two are using solutions similar to what you suggest, which are acceptable now in a health emergency, but which won't meet the recently announced Home Working policy

    You are horrendously naive if you think that "call the guards" is the answer to domestic violence. It's maybe the answer to an active crime being committed right now - if they actually answer the phone! But Women's Aid is a better starting place for the overall situation. Except if the victim is male, of course, in which case there's the occasional lower profile community support group, and no funded emergency accommodation options.

    Where would children / elder be, if you were at work? Easy, in their own home, being cared for by the same caregivers. The difference is, they wouldn't have a grumpy relative there saying "you NEED to be quiet, I'm on a call".

    And just imagine a housing officer, credit controller, mortgage broker - anyone who needs to be making lots of calls working from the library? They'd be kicked out with 10 minutes. Even in a shared office, many would not be happy discussing people's details out loud in front of strangers.

    Post edited by Mrs OBumble on


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,496 ✭✭✭fun loving criminal


    How do idiots feel going into work with colds? Do they not realize that nobody wants them in work and they're not helping anyone with their cold.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 88 ✭✭Delta1138


    Woman 53.

    Worked in a cafe 20 years.

    Cafe closed in March 2020 - didn't have facilities to accommodate outdoor dining.

    Advised to go on PUP by employer.

    Cafe has since returned to full operations, with new staff.

    This woman was not asked to return to work and with PUP being cut tonight, has to rely on husband's income.


    What should she do?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭Citrus_8


    What am I missing here?.. Get a new job. Plenty of places looking for employees.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,311 ✭✭✭SCOOP 64


    Surely she can sign on as now unemployed.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,426 ✭✭✭maestroamado




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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,750 ✭✭✭LillySV


    Has she enquired with employer why she isn’t back? If they claim she’s not required, then surely she still had rights to redundancy ?



  • Posts: 1,344 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    My understanding is you don't even need to apply( sign on)..........its all done automatically!!!!!! A sweet deal really......money just magically goes into bank account........& if that isn't 'enough' money for you I walked down o Connell street ( Limerick) yesterday ......nearly every place had "vacancy / we are hiring ' signs on front windows



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,125 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Request her redundancy.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,083 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    arseholes be arseholes!

    pandemic supports should have never been withdrawn, many businesses are gonna go bust because of it....



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  • Registered Users Posts: 701 ✭✭✭Confused11811


    Seems to me she needs to speak the employer about returning to work ASAP. She should also be preparing to talk to an employment solicitor.

    On the face of it she should have been taken back before the new staff. Question should be asked if she's been made redundant and what compensation is she entitled to. If the employer won't give her a return date, proper legal advice is your best option.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,392 ✭✭✭✭Furze99


    She's either been made redundant and due something. Sounds like she's not required back. Should not be on PUP at this stage. Sort out redundancy query and apply for new jobs.

    Is this a case where it has suited this person to be on PUP and not working? Handy money but now it's shrinking, realising that the road is running out?



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Loads of companies can't find staff.

    Experienced worker not wanted back? Doesn't sound right. Maybe she didn't want to go back while still effectively being paid by the state. Good luck getting redundancy in that case.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27,293 ✭✭✭✭breezy1985


    Another one for the "never happened" section of Boards that I keep campaigning for



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,426 ✭✭✭maestroamado




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,308 ✭✭✭✭rob316


    Get a new job? It's been 18 months. Such is the demand for hospitality staff she'll probably get a better paying job.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27,293 ✭✭✭✭breezy1985




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,817 ✭✭✭Darc19


    can you show me all these businesses that are going bust? - I've been looking at annual returns of many retail and service companies (small) and profits last year seems to be up in nearly every one of them.


    For the OP, your job has effectively restarted and you have effectively been dismissed without notice.


    If you were in the job more than 2 years you are due redundancy.


    the good news is that there are literally hundreds of foodservice & retail jobs out there



  • Posts: 1,344 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Careful there Ted, you'll get name- called if you talk sense to some posters on here



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 88 ✭✭Delta1138




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