The government's announcement today regarding the workforce
returning to the workplace aimed at stepping closer to normalityhas
provoked conflicting responses. The Prime Minister has placed the
responsibility for staff safety squarely on the shoulders of
employers handing them "discretion" to decide whether to
recall employees currently working from home. Whilst the
coronavirus infection rate now appears to be in decline it has by
no means disappeared.
Daniel Theron, a partner, observed "if all employers were
created equal, extending the discretion to oblige staff to return
to their workplace would not be a problem. However, this is clearly
not the case. A recent poll conducted by YouGov reveals that of the
employees who have been going into their workplace during the
coronavirus pandemic, as many as one in four felt pressured by
their employer to do so. One in three workers are unhappy about
having to commute and one in five feel that the health and
