Will Dorset employees go back to the office, or keep working from home?

Businesses here are being urged to get ready for the 21st June

Author: George SharpePublished 10th May 2021

Many of us have been working from home for over a year now and for some it's a blessing, for others it's a curse.

At the moment the official rules are anyone who can work from home should, but that could change next month.

Dorset businesses are being urged to get ready for 21st June when the prime minister is expected to encourage us all back into the office.

Ian Girling is the Chief Executive of Dorset Chamber of Commerce.

He told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset:

"Employers are going to have to make sure that full risk assessments are done, that employers protect themselves from future claims; things like bad backs, repetitive strain injury.

"I've also heard employers say 'well, if they want to work from home that's fine, they'll have to provide the kit.' that's actually not the case, if your staff work from home, you have to make sure they've got a proper environment for working from home."

Mr Girling says businesses need to be ready:

"Boris told us all to go home in March last year and we all had to be very agile and adaptable and because we were told to go home, we just kind of did it

"Once the 21st of June comes, which is when Boris is due to tell us to come back, we actually have to think about that properly for our businesses. It's not a temporary situation and the law will apply so we need to do what's right for our businesses and what's right for our people."

The Chamber is running an event on the 19th of May to advise employers on health and safety requirements and legal responsibilities.

You can find out more here.