Can anyone tell me if it is lawful for an employer to tell staff they cannot speak whilst on paid time?

Question

Our head of department has told us that our place of work is to be designated a quiet area,mainly because our talking whilst working is irritating a consultant in the room next door!

Answer 1

Yes and no.

If you are employed in a Public Library (or as a Mime Artist :-) ) then 'yes' .. however it would be unreasonable to prevent you (for example) answering the phone and speaking to others when you are employed as a receptionist or customer assistant and/or you need information from your fellow workers in order to do your job.

In this case it looks like a significant change in your terms & conmditions of employment - the problem is, you either accept it, or come to some agreement eg. to be relocated to some other place of work or accept Redundancy.

Answer 2

Magic, they have shot them selves in the foot 'cos you then communicate with notes, you obviously cannot be expected to respond to anything so the phone rings, you pick it up, and.. silence, no speaking remember. He asks question, you cannot answer it. Oh dear this WILL come back to bite him. So dropping things to gain attention, sign language, (oh that means stopping what you are doing and watching the other person).
The answer yes he CAN say and implement it, but you can work to his silly rule.
Now let me see, boss has heart attack, what's the morse for that, guess you will have to send a letter, email or perhaps morse ... --- ... so you dial the 999 and tap it out on the phone.
Oh yes it will come back to bite him...

Answer 3

Yes, it's legal. One of the managers where I work enforces the same rule and we are a government agency. Surprisingly, no one has looked into why the turnover rate in her unit is so much greater than the norm.

Answer 4

Is this person smoking something they shouldn't be. I dont think that this can be enforced as what happens if a customer or another department phones you are you suppose to just sit there and not talk. Might be worth mentioning this to your union if you have one or even HR.

Answer 5

Didn't your Dad ever tell you to sit down and shut up? You thought he was just being mean when all the time he was preparing you for the workplace. Call him now and tell him you love him.

Answer 6

It depends on the nature of your job and the work company and your department is involved in.

There is no fixed rule of law which governs it...........so legally..... enjoy madi.

Answer 7

This is easy to solve, just send each other
e-mails, keep a huge smile on your faces when reading them, that will upset the employer. SORTED!!!!

Answer 8

Quit being a punk and be glad you don't have a real job.

Answer 9

No, it's a breach of your human rights. You can be asked not to indulge in idle gossip and chatter though, and keep it to work related topics.

Answer 10

Strike !