Help me continue to work from home

July 7, 2022 11:15 AM

I live in the UK and have been working from home since the first lockdown in March 2020. My employer is now trying to get everyone back onsite, but I have asked to continue to work from home as a 'reasonable adjustment' and need some advice.

I have a few health conditions (BMI over 50, diabetes for which I take medication, high blood pressure and possibly a couple of other factors) which put me at higher risk of severe disease if I catch covid. I was designated Clinically Extremely Vulnerable by the NHS in February 2021 and told by the government to shield back when shielding was still a thing. Although this designation no longer exists and everyone is now living as though the pandemic is over, I have continued to be cautious. I'm still working from home, I avoid public transport, I socialise outdoors and wear an FFP2 mask when I go to the post office or hospital. I live alone and although I'm definitely not living my best life, I've adapted and can live this way a while longer.

I have an admin job in the education sector - it's student-facing, but I've been able to perform my role successfully while working from home for over two years, and my manager has agreed repeatedly that my working from home hasn't had any detrimental effect on the service.

However, HR policy is now to get everyone back onsite, and anyone who 'refuses' has been referred to an independent occupational health assessor - my own appointment with the assessor is in a few days. I've never been through a process like this and am worried.

My manager has warned me that HR's current stance is, essentially, that the pandemic is over, so I won't be granted permission to continue to work from home on the basis of my previous CEV status. I do have some other reasons for wanting to work from home though, including frequent diarrhea (a side effect of the metformin I've been taking, as my dose has increased), recent mobility problems and pain with my knee and hip, and a variety of fun symptoms related to my newish surgical menopause (for which I have been taking HRT). I haven't sought medical help for all of these issues as I haven't really needed to while working from home. I also haven't had to take any sick leave for two years, as I've been able to continue to work even on days I have, for example, dreadful gastrointestinal distress. However, I'm not sure if any of these, by themselves, will be enough to approve my continued working from home.

If I have to return onsite (and I appreciate this may happen whether I like it or not) it will mean 10-15 hours a week on crowded public transport, working in a small office full of unmasked colleagues, and face-to-face interactions with lots of unmasked and possibly unvaccinated people (all these interactions are currently being successfully performed online or over the phone). I'll be masked for 12+ hours a day, stepping back from people coughing in my face at work and annoying my colleagues by opening the windows. It won't be fun for any of us.

I'm triple-vaxxed, but my last shot was in early December and efficacy starts to wane after three months. We are at the start of another wave, and it looks like the BA.4 & BA.5 variants are both highly contagious and possibly (although the evidence is unclear) resulting in more severe disease. I know lots of people will think my continued social distancing is pure anxiety - but if it is, it's anxiety that I experience as unemotional, rational risk assessment. My risk assessment may be wrong, sure, but my caution is a choice I'm making and would like to have the freedom to continue to make.

So, my question: How should I prepare for my occupational health assessment? Have you been through a similar process? How can I best navigate this situation? I also have ADHD (which I haven't disclosed to my employer and never will) which makes me overshare and blurt stuff out, and minimise how impaired I am because I... just forget.

Finally: if your reaction, after reading this, is to tell me to just suck it up and return to working onsite because I'm just being anxious and paranoid/the pandemic is functionally over/there's nothing special about me and I should just fall in line - well I guess I can't stop you, but please know that I'm already extremely familiar with your point of view and you aren't helping me by expressing it.

Thanks!

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (13 answers total)

I would clarify if the independent health assessor is relevant to COVID only, for all health conditions (is there usually another path for stating accommodations or disability need in the UK?) you have two things going on- the COVID related risks, and then other accommodations.

Apologies if this advice is too US centric, but I would focus on what the accommodation is that can be met rather than anything else. So for example: private bathroom, masks available and worn by staff members or a private office, office with not steps to it or a special chair, etc.
posted by raccoon409 at 11:27 AM on July 7, 2022

If you have a student facing job then you're in the public sector, which is as a rule of thumb in my experience more accommodating about what a "reasonable adjustment" is. (FWIW I'm in the UK, have a mix of private and public career experience, and have family members who work and require reasonable adjustments)

Rather than the Covid risk, which some people see as anxiety rather than a "real" problem (no matter how wrong that might be), focus on the diabetes and the side effects of the medication, the mobility issues, and the menopause symptoms. Those are things which affect you NOW, whereas the Covid risk is "just" a risk. By focusing on symptoms and problems you have right here right now, you will give the OHA much more evidence of real, document-able, medically-diagnosed health problems, which is what they're looking for. Mention your Covid risk status as a side dish, not the main meal, if you mention it at all. If they ask for medical evidence, give it to them - your GP's surgery will give you copies.

Get hold of as much evidence as you can from emails, messages, etc, about how much work you've done at home, especially any praise/recognition from colleagues or managers, and particularly your "customers", the students. Be prepared to use this after the OHA. The aim is to demonstrate that making you work in the office would be unreasonable, given your health issues and your successful stint WFH for the last 2.5 years. Remember, a reasonable adjustment is a legal right, not a privilege.

If you are a member of a union then ask them for help, it's what they're there for.

Good luck!
posted by underclocked at 11:53 AM on July 7, 2022

my manager has agreed repeatedly that my working from home hasn't had any detrimental effect on the service.

Get that in writing.
posted by mhoye at 11:57 AM on July 7, 2022

I would dump every medical problem I had on the assessor. All the Covid risk stuff, the BMI, the side effects of the medicines, knees, everything. Write down the list you are prepared to tell the assessor. This way you won't overshare or forget. It sounds like you are at the mercy of the assessor. My personal style would be to be nice and try to gain the sympathy of the person. I could see someone else being aggressive and sort of demanding the assessor agree to the accommodation.

On preview or review, underclocked has some good advice. THis is not just covid, it is your overall health.

Document everything.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:52 PM on July 7, 2022

Is it too late to consult with a lawyer beforehand? If not, I would do so. I'm in the US, so perhaps it's better in the UK, but here those assessments are often shams, set up to make it look like institutions care.
posted by coffeecat at 1:15 PM on July 7, 2022

If you are a member of a union then ask them for help, it's what they're there for.
Just wanted to plus one this and if you aren't it's worth looking at joining as they'll be able to advise you if you don't like the way the assessment goes.

If you can, I'd try to have someone you trust in the assessment with you - they can help document and just provide a bit of moral support e.g. to reroute the discussion if you overshare something.
posted by crocomancer at 1:35 PM on July 7, 2022

Definitely join a union if you're not a member already, preferably before the assessment.

Totally agree that you should talk through all the health issues, not just the COVID risk point.
posted by knapah at 2:59 PM on July 7, 2022

I agree with all the above regarding making a case without including Covid, but also:
My manager has warned me that HR's current stance is, essentially, that the pandemic is over
If they are in the public sector, ask for the written risk assessment. They will have to have done a written risk assessment earlier in the pandemic; if they are now saying the risk is lower, they should have an updated risk assessment. If this risk assessment is rubbish, you can challenge that.
posted by Vortisaur at 1:31 AM on July 8, 2022

It may be worth disclosing your ADHD. ADHD is considered a disability in the UK, and your employer is legally obliged to make reasonable adjustments to accomodate you. Working from home is a reasonable adjustment, and considering you have proven that you being at home has had negligible impact on your productivity or the workplace in general it should be straightforward to get them to agree to it with a little outside pressure. So if they won't listen to your reasoning RE: covid, and your other conditions, speak to an employment lawyer and prepare a letter asking for adjustments (working from home) based on your ADHD. If you can't afford an employment lawyer ring the DPW and ask for the number of your local Disability Employment Adviser. Don't be put off by DWP/Job Centre contact - the Disability Employment Advisers are very knowledgeable and very understanding. Many are disabled themselves.
posted by mani at 2:06 AM on July 8, 2022

Before you go to this meeting, gather all the information you have about formally diagnosed conditions.

And then gather all your symptoms and problems that are not formally diagnosed. Consider seeing your GP and talk to them about any symptoms you've been managing without their help because you were able to work from home. The purpose here is to get these into your medical records with a baseline of severity of symptoms. And in general, with various obesity and age related mobility issues - they get worse over time, even if you're able to continue to work from home. And there may be treatment options to slow progression. Formal diagnosis may require tests or imaging or whatever. So get your name on any waiting lists you might need to be on to be seen.

You can also talk to the GP about your specific current covid risks, too.

When you meet with occupational health, labour all your diagnosed conditions and all your other symptoms that you're in the process of getting diagnosed for. If your GP has anything tangible about severely heightened covid risk bring that up last. If your GP has nothing specific they can point to I'd not bring that up. Your line of argument is that you are not a well woman. You've been able to manage all these health challenges as they arose/got worse because that coincided with the pandemic and wfh. Especially your mobility challenges and gastro issues will be very difficult to manage if you have to return to the office. Some days you may well not be able to come in.

OH is likely to suggest potential adjustments that are not being fully remote. So consider what would make your life in the office with mask for 12 hrs more bearable and have your own list. Don't volunteer that of course. But keep it in the back of your mind.

I'm not versed in current UK employment regulations. But I could imagine a scenario where they force you to return to the office and make certain adjustments that may or may not help you. So if you have to try and that makes your symptoms worse, there should be a mechanism for re-assessment. Lay the groundwork for that by making sure your GP is fully aware of all your issues, can get them diagnosed and track progression over time.

If you don't have access to a union you could try to talk to the CAB as well. They may be able to help you understand the rules around employer obligations to make reasonable adjustments.
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:20 AM on July 8, 2022

if your reaction, after reading this, is to tell me to just suck it up and return to working onsite because I'm just being anxious and paranoid/the pandemic is functionally over/there's nothing special about me and I should just fall in line - well I guess I can't stop you, but please know that I'm already extremely familiar with your point of view and you aren't helping me by expressing it.

It's not so much that I think this, as that there is a good chance that your occupational health assessor will believe that the pandemic is over and that Covid does not present a risk that means you require a reasonable adjustment. I think that, as others have suggested, I would try to make the most compelling case possible out of all your reasons put together.
posted by plonkee at 6:20 AM on July 8, 2022

(And just to help you build your arguments, be ready for what they throw at you consider that their POV may not be “the pandemic is over” but “working in an office does not constitute a higher risk that regular, everyday activity.” Never mind that you’ve been avoiding public transport and ordering in groceries, it’s somewhat along the lines of “you could get into a car crash anytime, so you having to drive to work is no more dangerous or burdensome than regular life.” I know this isn’t a fair argument for them to make at your, but be ready for it all the same. In the US I believe there were issues that once community spread was deemed high enough, nurses couldn’t get an workman’s comp for workplace exposure because it wouldn’t be proven that it occurred at work versus everyday life (never mind that it was because they had inadequate PPE).)

I hope your meeting goes well and you are successful in your attempts.
posted by raccoon409 at 7:39 AM on July 8, 2022

That's a good point. My employer is definitely not your employer, but the reason I've been exempted from my company's partial return to the office is that they recognise that I'm not participating in regular, everyday activity. I live alone, and I'm not going into shops, taking public transport, socialising, going to the cinema, or doing anything else that involves being in a shared enclosed space (apart from necessary medical appointments). Going into the office at all would be a huge increase in my personal exposure, which they don't think is a reasonable thing to ask of me.

I've noticed that people not in this situation don't necessarily realise it's possible to live like this. Might be worth spelling it out, if you haven't already.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 8:25 AM on July 8, 2022