Employers & Covid Measures

[Edith Bacon]

Does anyone know if employers are legally allowed to impose covid-related restrictions on their employees if said restriction is more punitive (for want of a better word) than the government restrictions?

In January, the company S works for introduced a rule preventing staff members from car-sharing if they were not in the same household or bubble. Today they announced that the rule will remain in place until at least June 21st, despite their staff members all being legally able to socialise and share indoor space both in and out of work.

Is the company allowed to do this?

[smalex]

Does the car sharing occur during the course of their working day, or is it transport to and fro work?

I presume they might be able to do the former because of risk assessments/potential liability on them?

[Edith Bacon]

It’s just transport to and from work, which feels to me as if they are overstepping their boundaries.

[smalex]

Surely not then... Are they banning people from getting the bus or a train?

[Kenickie]

It's not quite the same, but I know that we're keeping in lots of rules about student distancing for teaching etc even if they can all walk out of the teaching rooms and hug and lick each other.

[Kenickie]

Hmmm, but outside of work seems like overstepping.

[Edith Bacon]

Surely not then... Are they banning people from getting the bus or a train?

Nope. Nor taxis.

[wendy james]

The gov.uk website still bans car sharing, though I guess it could update on Monday. They may have factored that in.

Duty of care doesn’t cover commuting, but it could be part of their resilience planning. I think they’d struggle to punish somebody who disregarded it (especially if a passenger got out before entering site and walked ) but I think they can tell staff not to car share.

[smalex]

I'd have thought car sharing was a much safer option than getting the bus or train because of the number of people you're exposed to and how much more likely you are to find out quickly if the other person tests positive, so it seems strange to target that alone, even if it is a legitimate thing to decree to your employees.

[Ella77]

That is a puzzler.

[Edith Bacon]

Thank you for the replies, and for that info, Wendy. It’s definitely a resilience measure. So wef Monday they can reasonably ask that staff travel separately but it isn’t likely to be enforceable?

It’s especially tricky because it is a small company and a positive case would hit them hard, more so if multiple staff members are affected. S’ dad is a manager and has to be seen to toe the party line, but, selfishly, I want him to go back to giving S a lift to and from work because A&E’s activities are starting up again next week and I can’t be in two places at once. And from Monday, S will be spending much more time with his dad, legitimately, which makes the restriction and inconvenience a farce.

[Edith Bacon]

It's not quite the same, but I know that we're keeping in lots of rules about student distancing for teaching etc even if they can all walk out of the teaching rooms and hug and lick each other.

Are there any consequences (punishments) if students don’t distance?

[Kenickie]

They could be asked to leave the teaching session.

[ParisGal]

Students are required to distance during classes/lectures only, right, or have I misunderstood?

[Kenickie]

Yes.

[Kenickie]

I initially cross posted with Edith so had wrongly assumed that this was about car sharing for travel to work meetings/site visits or similar.

[Kenickie]

(so I thought it would be slightly less completely irrelevant as a point than it turned out to be. ;) )

[Edith Bacon]

They could be asked to leave the teaching session.

Thanks. I guess having to remain distant during teaching doesn’t really impact on how they live their lives when they aren’t being taught. And universities have a different, more robust, perhaps, duty of care to students than an employer has to an employee outside of their contracted hours.

I can see it from all angles but it is a massive pain. S has said he will take a shorter lunch and finish early on the days I am committed to taking the other children to activities, which resolves the practical aspect. It still feels intrusive though.

[Edith Bacon]

(so I thought it would be slightly less completely irrelevant as a point than it turned out to be. ;) )

It’s all helpful, just to see what happens elsewhere, so thank you

[Kenickie]

Would his dad be amenable to dropping him off/picking him up a couple of streets away?

The student thing is really complicated as I can see that it could seem a bit of a farce for the students who aren't observing distancing outside sessions, but I guess we need rules in place to protect those who are more vulnerable or less comfortable with mixing. It's not really comparable though as it's not as if anyone else is being asked to go in the car with them!