A DARLINGTON employer has been accused of putting people at risk after claims a team of office staff were told they cannot work from home, despite Government guidance coming in.
Nobia UK has come under fire after around 20 staff were told a “problem” with the telephony system meant they would have to remain working at the premises at Yarm Road Business Park on Allington Way.
From Monday, December 13, workers across the country are being advised to work from home “if they can” in a desperate bid to curb the spread of the new Covid Omicron variant.
Read more: Boris Johnson announces Plan B restrictions to tackle Omicron spread
However, those working for the company, which owns Magnet Kitchens, say they are living in fear of catching the Covid variant after claiming the company had dismissed concerns.
One office worker told The Northern Echo: “Nobia UK have advised their staff that they will not be facilitating them working from home, despite the government guidelines clearly stating that as of Monday everyone who can, should work from home.
“The reason given is that the telephony system does not work from home.”
Read more: First pictures of Teesside's first 'Amazon' off A19 in Wynyard near Stockton
The worker, who asked to remain anonymous and branded the decision as “unacceptable,” accused the company of being aware of the telephony system issue last year, and not fixing it.
They said: “We have a system called Jabba, which should allow people to work from home.
“They had it in place for the first lockdown, but then they started calling office staff back in when there were issues.”
Saying they had been told the system was still not working correctly on Thursday, the worker said they had been unnecessarily placed at risk of contracting the virus due to events beyond their control.
They said: “They haven’t fixed it, and they haven’t done what they should in order to enable people to work safely.
“No one wants to self-isolate over Christmas, it was difficult enough last year with everyone being allowed to visit for one day, without the workplace trying to make it more difficult.”
The worker claimed the site's health and safety team had this week deemed the office space a cause for concern, later prompting the company to ask staff to sit "diagonally," before eventually saying no action was needed.
In response to the concerns, Nobia/Magnet said that it had reminded its teams of its safety measures, saying that any roles requiring access to "critical systems" are able to work safely from its locations.
A company spokesperson said: “As a responsible employer we’re following latest government advice carefully, with team members that can work from home being encouraged to do so.
"Any roles that require access to critical systems or are essential to the smooth running of our production facility are able to safely work from our locations.
"We’ve reminded all team members of our safety measures which include working from home where possible and the use of hand sanitiser, distancing and a fresh air filtration system within work locations.
"All of our employees have been reminded of their responsibility to themselves, their colleagues and ultimately their families in making sure they adhere to our and the governments’ guidance.
"We appreciate this is an unsettling time and a difficult situation for all, but we want to reassure that the appropriate measures are in place and that our teams are being supported and encouraged to follow all government advice.”
Read more: Safety concerns raised after Covid 'outbreak' at Darlington warehouse
It comes as workers at the site last year alleged safety measures including social distancing had been "ignored," leaving staff "scared" to continue working.
At the time, the company said it had developed a "robust safety plan," which included a number of social distancing measures.
--
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel