Well, I got my letter today......

[bakebeans]

Fingers crossed. I work in a supermarket so it's not always easy but I'd rather be at work than sitting at home.

I’ve been told today that my drs won’t go against government guidelines so I can’t be given a letter to say I’m fit for work. They also said hopefully I can go back after I’ve had both jabs so it could be mid summer. Daughters going back to school in March I’m going to be so lost without her I’m dreading it

 

[Amigo]

I’ve been told today that my drs won’t go against government guidelines so I can’t be given a letter to say I’m fit for work. They also said hopefully I can go back after I’ve had both jabs so it could be mid summer. Daughters going back to school in March I’m going to be so lost without her I’m dreading it

I’ve been in the shielding group from the beginning but I understood this extended period with additional vulnerable people only extends to 31st March at the moment. I hadn’t appreciated this would mean people couldn’t go back to work for so long. I‘m due my second jab in April.

 

[bakebeans]

I’ve been in the shielding group from the beginning but I understood this extended period with additional vulnerable people only extends to 31st March at the moment. I hadn’t appreciated this would mean people couldn’t go back to work for so long. I‘m due my second jab in April.

It just seems so mixed up I could work when numbers were through the roof but now they are coming down I can’t because the government has suddenly decided I’m at risk, surely it should be my choice. My first jab is 2 weeks away so it’s probably going to be 15 weeks before I can go back

 

[Amigo]

It just seems so mixed up I could work when numbers were through the roof but now they are coming down I can’t because the government has suddenly decided I’m at risk, surely it should be my choice. My first jab is 2 weeks away so it’s probably going to be 15 weeks before I can go back

It’s not mandatory however. They can’t actually stop you from working if you wish to do so. Can’t your employers make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to minimise risks at work? @Stitch147 clearly hasn’t required a fit to work letter. The shielding period is only until 31st March (unless it’s extended) and the letter from the Govt only covers to that period not when the vaccinations have been completed. Hopefully things will start to open up and normalising to some extent by April. I’m very high risk but will be venturing out once this shielding period ends. I’ve been stuck at home for nearly a year now!
Looking at your details, I suspect you no longer fit the algorithm since your weight loss and lowered Hba1c and the decision should be reconsidered.

 

[Lucyr]

It just seems so mixed up I could work when numbers were through the roof but now they are coming down I can’t because the government has suddenly decided I’m at risk, surely it should be my choice. My first jab is 2 weeks away so it’s probably going to be 15 weeks before I can go back

I thought it is your choice whether to tell your employer or not, but if you tell your employer then they can choose to be cautious and not let you in. Too late to go back in time now but I wouldn’t have told my employer about the letter if I wanted to continue going in.

 

[Stitch147]

It’s not mandatory however. They can’t actually stop you from working if you wish to do so. Can’t your employers make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to minimise risks at work? @Stitch147 clearly hasn’t required a fit to work letter. The shielding period is only until 31st March (unless it’s extended) and the letter from the Govt only covers to that period not when the vaccinations have been completed. Hopefully things will start to open up and normalising to some extent by April. I’m very high risk but will be venturing out once this shielding period ends. I’ve been stuck at home for nearly a year now!
Looking at your details, I suspect you no longer fit the algorithm since your weight loss and lowered Hba1c and the decision should be reconsidered.

I think I'm lucky where I work that my boss is also on the shielding list but in work, so he is fully aware of the letters contents and that it's just guidance and not compulsory. I took the decision purely on risk and for how much longer the shielding is on for. As it ends at the end of March, and I've got 17 days holiday in March, I didnt see the point. We're short staffed as it is with people on the long term shielding list.

 

[LancashireLass]

My work are very good generally and try to work with the staff to come to agreements that suit everyone, most people are WFH at the moment and there doesn't seem to be any major rush to get everyone back anytime soon, although that could change at the drop of a hat!

I'll be honest, I would much rather continue WFH than go back to the office, it just suits me better but of course everyone has different circumstances (we don't have children for example, so I can go into my "work room" and be totally uninterrupted all day - that never happens in the office!). I am considering asking about the scope for WFH in the future even after all this is eventually over but have no idea how that will be received!

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I am considering asking about the scope for WFH in the future even after all this is eventually over but have no idea how that will be received!

I think there's general consensus that it's likely there'll be more WFH in jobs which permit it. I work as a programmer (at a company where quite a few people WFH anyway and all of us did occasionally), and the assumption (by everyone) is that WFH will be even more usual after this (so more people might come in to the office only one or two days a week).

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

That seems very likely to me. Will be interesting to see how it plays out over the next few years. I suspect either a happy-medium blended approach will emerge, or it will just be a gradual slide back into ‘everyone in the office’. Which it is may depend on what companies decide to do with their eyewateringly expensive office accommodation I suppose?

I really hope it helps those with disabilities or other circumstances who have repeatedly been told they can’t work from home, that it has now been demonstrated that it’s perfectly possible.