Photos appear to show lack of social distancing at Plusnet's Sheffield HQ amid coronavirus crisis

More staff working at Plusnet’s Sheffield city centre headquarters have voiced their fears over coronavirus, as fresh photos appear to show social distancing guidelines being flouted.
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The Star last week reported one employee’s claim that staff were ‘scared every time we go to work’ at the internet provider’s office on Pinfold Street, where he said colleagues were still sitting closer than the recommended two metres and were not keeping a safe distance apart in the canteen and narrow corridors.

More workers have now spoken out anonymously and shared photos showing people much closer than is advised to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Photos from Plusnet's headquarters in Sheffield, where worried staff claim social distancing guidelines designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus are not being followedPhotos from Plusnet's headquarters in Sheffield, where worried staff claim social distancing guidelines designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus are not being followed
Photos from Plusnet's headquarters in Sheffield, where worried staff claim social distancing guidelines designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus are not being followed
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One said staff were still hot-desking and sharing headsets, which were not being cleaned adequately between users, and claimed worried staff had raised ‘numerous concerns’ with bosses who had failed to act.

He also claimed there was a shortage of hand sanitiser, with managers refusing to provide more for fear it would be stolen, and that requests to work from home were falling on deaf ears.

Another said staff were sat as close as one metre from one another and managers approached staff with little consideration for social distancing, several ‘at risk’ staff had not been risk-assessed or offered the chance to work from home and workflows and targets remained ‘exactly the same’.

Photos from Plusnet's headquarters in Sheffield, where worried staff claim social distancing guidelines designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus are not being followedPhotos from Plusnet's headquarters in Sheffield, where worried staff claim social distancing guidelines designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus are not being followed
Photos from Plusnet's headquarters in Sheffield, where worried staff claim social distancing guidelines designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus are not being followed

Plusnet defended working conditions at the office, insisting it was ‘factually incorrect to suggest that we’re not enabling remote working or following social distancing rules in our contact centres’ and that all employees had been given cleaning products to keep their workstations clean.

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Asked about the photos, a spokeswoman for the firm said that while it was ‘doing all we can’ to ensure the safety of its workforce ‘we have to ask staff to follow those measures we’ve put in place’.

“Our colleagues are coming in only if they’re able to do so and we’ve just started to enable home working for our teams, wherever possible. We have suspended all proactive sales activity to ensure we can help customers who need us with critical queries,” she added.

“If we shut our contact centres, customers will inevitably be left without a home connection, at a time when they need it more than ever.”

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