Office STILL Closed

Question

Our non certified CILCA Proper Officer has determined that the office is still not useable and to reopened must have all sorts of things applied that are not laws, such as:

Office must be deep cleaned EVERYDAY

Toilets must be cleaned AFTER EACH USE

The officers never liked being in the office, they preferred working from home. Has anyone else encountered this? I have looked at government guidelines and cannot even see where the Clerk must have gotten them from because they are very strict and not up to date with government guidelines. I am going to state this during the meeting. I would just like to consult other clerks now for advice.

Answer 1

How many people work in the office? Do members of the public visit? What are the normal cleaning arrangements? Who uses the toilets?

Comments

About a total of four people work in the office but usually only two or three are there at a time.
Members of the public visit at very limited times, as in only 10 hrs a wk.
Everyone uses the toilets and they have said an the assessment that they will do all the cleaning, a deep cleaning everyday on their hourly rate, not hiring a cleaner.

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Study the risk assessment in detail and see whether the concerns can be overcome with simple measures. The national guidance is now that people should return to office work where possible, and that will not change in the future, so you should now be able to agree a long-term plan.

Answer 2

A few months ago, Covid 19 mitigation might have been a feasible reason for the measures.  However, the justification would need to be how the measures are justified with respect to the people working in the office, their vaccination status, who else uses the office etc.  In order for the assertions to have any validity right now, they must come from either credible guidance or some form of valid risk assessment. The Clerk's assertions need to be challenged by the Councillors so at the next meeting, an agenda item "Office use" should go on the summons.  If the Clerk cannot produce either, they must modify their stance.

Comments

The employer has a duty to undertake a risk assessment and to address any potential issues that arise from it. The employer must also agree and implement appropriate rules and guidelines for the safe use of the premises. Employees are entitled to request flexible working arrangements. If the employee's contract of employment includes more than one place of work, the employee may choose where to work, unless the contract states specific times for each location.