IN THE
NEWS...IN THE NEWS.. CAN AN EMPLOYEE RIGHTLY REFUSE TO RETURN TO WORK?
After the recent government an- nouncement advis- ing that people who can’t work from home can now re- turn to work; the question employers are asking regards their employees whether that, due to child care, they can- not return to work at this time and there- fore can they remain on furlough? So the question is can employees refuse to return to work? Normally the action of an employee who refuses to return to work would be treated as miscon- duct, as long as they have no viable rea-
son as to why they cannot work. However we are in a far from normal situ- ation at present. For many employees the thought of returning to work can be somewhat unset- tling due to the significant risk it could pose whilst the coronavirus is still present. As an employer you may consider disciplining your staff for not returning to work, but you will need to proceed very care- fully. Employers should be reassuring their staff with what is expected of them when they return
and what has been done to protect them, e.g. 2m dis- tancing, no hot desking to take place, continuing to wash hands etc. We would recommend providing a copy of your health and safety audit to staff so they can see what systems have been put in place to keep them protect- ed. This way your employees will know what to expect and will also feel reas- sured that coming to work will be a safe environment moving forward. If you are put in a situation where a member of staff is
refusing to return to work, it is important to find out their rea- sons as to why before taking any action further. To give an example, a staff member may be classed as high risk or a family member may have been advised to self isolate for 14 days as they have symptoms, there- fore they also have to stay at home for 14 days. Your employee may have had previous mental health issues e.g. anxiety prior to Covid-19 and since being in lockdown this has now trig- gered it which has
made the anxiety harder to manage. In this situation, if pos- sible you could allow them to work at home a little longer or consider them taking this as holiday or unpaid leave. It is important that an employer should always put the employee’s health and safety and wel-
fare first when get- ting them to return to work. However an employ- ee cannot simply refuse to return to work without good reason and in the event that they do refuse, you may take steps to protect your business which may include disci- plinary proceedings and/or dismissal.
Call Insync Employment Law now if you have any employment related issues. If you would like more information or advice regarding employees refusing to return to work then please call us on: 0191 2505854 or alternatively email
advice@insyncemploymentlaw.co.uk
14
JUNE 2020
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