Threat of disciplinary action from employer

[Ajax402]

Good morning,
i work for a large company in Suffolk and have done for an extended period. My job involves training plant operators and has done with no issues for several years. With the Covid hitting in March all training in dual seat cabs was suspended immediately for very good reasons. Due to operational pressures it was decided to continue with in cab training with certain measures put in place ie PPE. I have an underlying condition which means that for the last 15 years or so i have had to have the Flu jab annually. Now according to my employer this is not an "extremely" high level of risk to my health but i would argue it is a "significant" risk. I have had an informal meeting with a senior manager about this issue and he says that the risk factor is negligible and is offset by PPE, we agreed to disagree and i would give it some further thought whilst on leave. One of my work colleagues gave me a heads up that i am scheduled to start in cab training tomorrow which is my first day back at work. I have had no communication from work during my leave to say that they were going to do this, in fact i was under the impression that more consultation would be undertaken with myself, safety and management prior to finding a resolution to this problem. It feels very much like a form of ambush tactic is being employed with the endgame being " i refused to carry out a reasonable request from an officer of the company" or i am in breach of my contracted role. Now i have never refused an order from any of my work management team for all of my time with the company and could never envisage an eventuality where i would. Now i suspect i'm not on the firmest ground legally speaking but with significant rises in cases of new infections nationally is there any grounds to say that the company is not treating employees individual cases and concerns fairly.

Many thanks.

[ostell]

So get your doctor to say you are vulnerable

[ULA]

Back in March where you notified by NHS that you were in a clinically extrememly vulnerable category and therefore had to shield? At the moment this category according to the .gov website have been advised that they can go to work as long as the workplace is Covid secure, so you need to ensure that the company is following the relevant guidelines set out for your industy sector.

One suggestion would be that you ask your company to carry out an occupational health assessment based on your medical condition and the work environment that you are being asked to operate in. That way the requirement to carry out training in dual seat cabs will be assessed against your medical condition and your employer will be advised on any risk factors that need to be mitiagated in order for you to be able to work safely in your job or they may be advised that you have to undertake other activities to ensure you are working in a Covid secure environment.

[RandomUsername]

Please don't be fooled by the alleged risk levels the government are pumping out on a daily basis with their "planned" second wave. I'd suggest the first thing to do to perhaps give you more peace of mind, would be to go to the ONS website and look at the deaths recorded "with" Covid 19 in the month of July in your region. In my region of approx 250K population, there was not even one single death registered "with" Covid 19, that's the official number according to the government. August and September figures aren't available yet as they're still fixing them but you can assume them to be no different to July. Please do not be fooled by mainstream media reports blowing it out of all proportion, if this is partly what's worrying you.