As more of us are returning to our workplaces the safety of those workplaces will come into focus. Employees need to be able to work with employers to ensure their safety and iron out any initial problems.
The government has published detailed guidance at their website GOV.UK for each business sector and how to make it safe. If you find that your employer is falling short and you have real concerns that the situation is harmful or potentially harmful then you should raise your concerns. Employees have a number of different ways of engaging in a constructive conversation, with their line manager, their HR department, an employee representative or a trade union representative. Take your concerns to one of these people in your business and work together to see what changes can be made to ensure that the workplace and working practices are made safe.
In rare cases these conversations fall on deaf ears and employees need to know that they have protection from being dismissed for raising reasonable concerns about harmful or potentially harmful practices in the workplace. If all sensible attempts to remedy the situation fail and lead to a dismissal of the employee raising the concerns then that is an unfair dismissal. It should not come to that, but employees need to know that they are within their rights to insist on a safe working environment.
If you need to talk to someone about an employment matter please call our office on 01142255891 or 01142256666 or email enquiries@shulaw.co.uk.