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Are there any laws in the UK which could prevent an employee from bringing their well-behaved dog to work with them, and just have it sit or lie down near your desk out of the way? For the sake of this question assume that management and all staff are happy with this.

I live and work in the UK, and can only find things relating to the USA.

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  • @JoeStrazzere - Bear in mind that the document you linked to seems to be specific to a Ministry of Defence site. The second paragraph in there, however, does refer to the overriding Health and Safety Act. – Snow♦ Dec 21 '16 at 13:48
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    Law SE isn't definitive. HR would have the correct answer and compliance with their guidelines would protect Terry from any adversity. – Snow♦ Dec 21 '16 at 13:51
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    This is a question about what the law is in a locale, not a question about a specific company's policies or a request for legal advice. I don't see why this is off-topic. – Monica Cellio♦ Dec 21 '16 at 17:05
  • @Monica While I most certainly agree with that and have voted to reopen the question, I also found it interesting that the OP himself voted to close it. – Masked Man Dec 21 '16 at 17:31
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    How is "Are there any laws in the UK which could prevent" not legal advice? It is not just what the law is. Could prevent is a legal opinion. There will be for than one law and more than one legal opinion. If it was a simple as the written law(s) we would not have courts handing down decisions on written law(s). – paparazzo Dec 21 '16 at 18:43
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https://www.contactlaw.co.uk/277-nolink-uk/area-of-law-faqs/employment-law-faqs/workplace-information-faqs/3765-faqs-bringing-pets-to-work.html

That doesn't cite a source, but there are similar results that echo the advice on this link. Anecdotally, a guy at my office sometimes brings his dog into the office when he has to work over night. The dog is well behaved and you wouldn't know it was there.

I can't find a law that prevents this but it's important to note this doesn't make it 'right'. You would still need to seek permission from your employer. I'm not a lawyer but I think your first step would be to broach the subject with them rather than a lawyer as a first step.

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There are a few things to consider.

  • Health and safety: Will the dog bite? Are there any allergies, staff and clients alike?

  • Working environment: Will this have a negative impact on any staff? Will this impact be considered in their performance reviews?

  • General other: Is this an office? Is there a physical product? Will there be issues with warranties, etc?

I've worked in a couple of places with office dogs. They tend to make the day go by much easier.

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  • this doesn't even attempt to address the question asked as it appears after the edit in rev 3: "Does the UK have laws that would prevent bringing pets to work (with permission)?" – gnat Dec 22 '16 at 7:29
  • Actually, @gnat, although I don't cite specific acts of specific laws, the applicable laws will be in the areas that I mentioned: H&S, employment, tort. – JohnHC Dec 22 '16 at 8:50

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