So many people cheered the new B.C. restart plan that included dates for many parts of our society to reopen.
Other people, however, are holding their breath that they won’t be rushed back into their workplaces before it’s safe to do so.
I know this because these workers in Burnaby have been emailing me with comments about how they are living in fear about returning to an office. For some, they want to receive the second dose before returning, but they’re employer is pushing them to come back sooner.
Others say the office environment isn’t safe because management hasn’t developed a proper plan and co-workers refuse to follow rules.
It’s a lot to digest for both workers and employers. For management, I can see why they want to get back to a more normal work environment.
I’ve picked out one of the responses I’ve received and printed it below. The name is withheld for obvious reasons.
“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, my family member has been working remotely from home. Without going into too much detail, they have an underlying medical condition that puts them at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Despite health officials saying that employers should not be asking for doctor's notes when it comes to COVID-19 related matters, my relative provided their employer with one anyway, which stated that they were to work remotely for the foreseeable future. It wouldn’t be a forever thing, of course, but their vulnerability of getting COVID-19 was (and still is) far too risky.
“Early on in the pandemic, them working from home wasn't a problem as the majority of the office moved to remote work. But after a couple of months of this, my family member was recalled back to the office. However, upon their return, they were one of very few people who were back at the office, while the majority of their co-workers were still remote.
“To make matters worse, while back at the office, they found that COVID-19 safety protocols were not being adequately followed. Cleaning was not being done properly – and on some occasions, not at all (i.e., cleaning logs were not being completed, no physical distancing, staff not wearing masks.) This was of great concern and prompted my relative to contact WorkSafe BC. WorkSafe BC then went to inspect the office and, according to the Inspection Reports which I obtained copies of, found several deficiencies that they were told they had to fix. In addition, WorkSafe BC also found that the office had not provided evidence that they took reasonable steps to set up bullying and harassment policies and procedures and were ordered to do so.
“As a result of the deficiencies found by WorkSafe BC, my relative was not comfortable being in the office for 8 hours/day and requested to management that they go back to working from home. Management’s response was that in order for their work-from-home to be reconsidered, they would need to provide a doctor’s note with their expected return to work date. However, as there was no expected end to COVID-19, this was impossible for them to provide. Furthermore, they had already provided one doctor’s note, which should have been enough as the doctor’s instructions were clear. According to their supervisor, the doctor’s note had been misplaced and was not in their file. They were then allowed to work remotely once again – and, from time to time, their physician would also provide updated letters – each time clarifying their risks and that they needed to continue to work from home until further notice. Despite the words ‘until further notice,’ their remote work was always only approved month-to-month.
“I won’t even get into the fact that, while other current remote employees were provided equipment from the office to take home to use (i.e. computers, phones), my relative was told that the company does not provide equipment to staff – which was obviously a lie – and had to spend their own money out-of-pocket, which included buying a new computer.
“As British Columbia has now begun its Restart Plan 2.0, their employer has again been giving them a hard time about continuing remote work. Their physician provided them yet another letter, again stating that the remote work needed to continue, and the employer’s response was to question whether or not they were vaccinated. In both my opinion and the opinion of my relative, this was a violation of their right to privacy. I then contacted WorkSafe BC on behalf of my relative, and they advised that employers should not be asking personal health questions such as this, nor are they required to have any information on their employee’s medical history unless the employee chooses to disclose said information on their own accord. By asking an employee whether or not they are vaccinated, this may then make them feel as though they would need to provide other health-related information.
“While other employees at this office are allowed to remote work and not given as much of a hassle, it seems as though my relative is – and, in my opinion, it is all retaliatory for them contacting WorkSafe BC last year. What employers also don’t seem to understand is this: Just because someone is vaccinated doesn’t mean their risk suddenly goes to 0%. Especially when the VoC (variants of concern) in the mix. Bonnie Henry has also stated in several of her more recent briefings since the new Restart Plan that what someone should or shouldn’t do also depends on their personal risk, and just because the Government’s plan is to have things fully reopened by September, doesn’t mean everyone else has to follow that. Also, if the employer is required to know an employee’s vaccination status, then shouldn’t that employee also have the right to know whether or not their co-workers are fully vaccinated to better determine their risk? It works both ways.
“I would understand employers having a problem with remote work if they’d only been doing it for 1 or 2 weeks, but when employees have been working remotely for months with no apparent issues, you can’t really turn around and suddenly make it one.
“This relative is one of few family members left that I have. I, too, am also clinically extremely vulnerable. If I lose them to COVID-19 all because their employer wants to play office politics instead of putting their employee’s (and their family members) health first, then I will be devastated. My anxiety has been through the roof as a result of this, because I have to worry when my relative will be forced to return to the office again and whether or not they will contract COVID and die, and what arrangements I may need to make in case that happens.
“We’re in a different time, and employers need to learn to be more understanding rather than acting like bullies.”
