Where would I stand ??

[BlackG7R]

The situation with COVID-19 seems to be constantly spiralling downwards, pubs, restaurants, clubs, theatres etc etc. all closed now. and we are being "advised" but not "told" to stay at home.

But what about factories producing things that are really not important in the short term for keeping the country going ?

I work in a factory with somewhere around 500 people on site, many of the office staff are working from home, but if you have to physically touch the product to do your job, you obviously still need to be there.

My problem is that I live with two elderly parents, both are in generally good health, but one has asthma. Now i'm not worried about myself getting the virus as I would probably throw it off, but I really don't want to take it home.

I was really hoping our management would have shut the place by now, and that may well still happen on Monday, but what if it doesn't ??

So where would I stand legally if I just rang in and said I'm not coming back until this thing is over to protect my parents ?

I don't really even care if I get paid or not, I could live a few weeks without a salary, and it's not as if i'm gonna be spending out on holidays or expensive restaurants for a while.

Could the company sack me ?

[Jasandjules]

There is no easy answer to this at this stage I am afraid.

Practically speaking, yes your not being available for work contrary to your contract could result in disciplinary proceedings and then termination.

[edc]

Like many others we are in the same sort of place. For those that can't work from home we have implemented split shifts, extra cleaning, etc. Whilst the company may not mandate it why not talk to your manager about using up holiday, giving the hours back in lieu of future overtime, or even voluntary unpaid leave.

Depending on your business you may soon find there is no or little work to do anyway in quick time.

[BlackG7R]

Hopefully all will become clear tonight after Boris addresses the country from No. 10

[Max5476]

From the speech "Travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home."

My work is definitely not absolutely necessary, it could be done from home, but my company have been too slow to allow remote access to the servers for me to work from home.

Should I go to work tomorrow?

[BlackG7R]

In my view, what my company produce is not essential to keep the country going in the current situation. So I will not be going in tomorrow. I am not going to put myself or my family at risk.

[BlackG7R]

But again Boris has not made it totally clear what is "absolutely necessary". He's leaving that to ours or our companies judgement.

He should have said "essential" workers only.

[edc]

If managers are waiting for Boris Johnson to publish a jobs list you will be a long time dead. Nobody anywhere is going to have a deep enough intimate enough knowledge of all the different types of work within thousands of companies to make such a list.