Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure businesses do not compel people who are not key workers, and who rely on public transport, to travel to work.

The Government has advised that people should be working from home where it is possible to do so. If it is impossible for someone to work from home, then they can go to work. We understand that certain jobs require people to travel to their work for instance if they operate machinery, or are delivering front line services, such as train and bus drivers, construction workers, restaurant workers handling deliveries or health and social care workers.

Employers and employees should discuss their working arrangements. There is a duty on all employers to make every effort to facilitate their employees working from home, including providing suitable IT and equipment to enable remote working.

Existing employment law already gives employees the right to request flexible working, which includes remote working. Where work must be done in the workplace, we have published tailored advice for how social distancing measures can be implemented by employers in England to help protect their workforce and customers from Coronavirus while continuing to trade.

Businesses and employees can get advice on employment issues, including the latest on homeworking, at: www.acas.org.uk. For further advice and support, businesses can also ring the Department’s Business Support Helpline on 0300 456 3565.