Some Employers Are Allegedly Calling Their Staff Back to the Office During Phase One Despite WFH Being the Default Option

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, if you had asked your boss for the option to work from home, he would have given you an option to be fired instead.

Now, with the coronavirus keeping us in our homes, telecommuting has become the norm, to the annoyance of bosses everywhere.

Many employees want to work from home even after it’s safe to go back to the office, but bosses are not budging; they want their employees to come back to the office, even if it’s not yet legal to do so.

Some Employers Are Allegedly Calling Their Staff Back to the Office During Phase One Despite WFH is the Default Option

Despite the government’s clarification that companies should continue with work from home arrangments even after the circuit breaker, some employers are calling their workers back to the office.

Speaking to TODAYonline, several employees said that they have been ordered by their bosses to return to the office, even though they telecommuted successfully during the circuit breaker.

One receptionist, Lisa, says she was asked to return to work on 2 June, when Phase 1 of the safe reopening begins.

Lisa, who is seven months’ pregnant and a mother of two, said she was shocked. (Her name has been changed at her request).

In her defence, her job was to answer the phone, which she says she can do from home because the calls have been diverted there from the main office.

Plus, the authorities made it clear that all workers should continue to work from home unless it’s impossible to do so.

So, Lisa warned the human resources department and her boss that they could be breaking the law, but her boss was unmoved.

“… I believe he would rather take the risk in order to restart work”, Lisa said.

Angered, she reported her employer to the authorities by email, something her fellow colleagues were too scared to do.

The outcome is pending.

Lisa and her colleagues aren’t the only ones facing this problem, though.

According to TODAYonline, several employers are ordering their employees to return to work.

Some businesses were confused over the “telecommute whenever possible” rule, while others offered workers a choice to return.

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Those Who Force Workers To Return Could Be Jailed

Just in case you’re an employer and you’re unsure about what’s legal during Phase 1, the Ministry of Manpower clarified on Friday (29 May) that working from home is the default position at the moment.

So, if you do not make arrangements for your staff members to work from home when it is doable, you could be jailed or fined under the Infectious Diseases Act.

If you’re a frustrated employee who’s just been asked by your boss to return to work after the circuit breaker ends, there are two things you can do.

First, communicate your concerns to your boss, and remind them that it is still illegal for workers to return to the office when they can work from home.

If they don’t budge, report them to the authorities, such as the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management or to MOM via SnapSAFE.

Everything Isn’t Back To Normal

It’s understandable that companies are desperate for their employees to return to work because of the drop in revenue during the circuit breaker period.

Plus, many bosses probably thought that the end of the circuit breaker meant…welll, the end of the circuit breaker.

But if we rush our shift back to normal life, we could have another spike in Covid-19 cases, which may force the government to impose another Circuit Breaker: Circuit Breaker 2: The Return Of Boredom & Isolation.

And no one wants that, right?

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