AIBU to think this makes a mockery of self isolation?

[MojoJojo71]

DD Was sent home from school on Friday because a child in her class tested positive so she needs to self isolate for 14 days. I’m a single parent and frontline NHS (antenatal clinic midwife). Our HR department has today decided that I cannot remain home on paid leave because it is not me that needs to self isolate but my daughter. As a solution they have suggested that because the restriction on using grandparents or ‘informal childcare’ has been lifted that I send her to her grandparents. I’m absolutely bloody furious about this. Surely self isolation means just that? I can’t believe that the HR department of an NHS trust would expect me to send a self isolating and therefore potentially contagious child into my parents home and put their lives at risk. AIBU in thinking that they are taking the piss?

That is technically the guidance IF and only IF you can completely self isolate from the person in your household who's isolating I. E. Staying 2m away, not sharing a bathroom /kitchen etc... Which is pretty much impossible for most families unless the person moves out.

But if you've already been in contact with her and/or can't do the above then they don't have a leg to stand on.

You might just get paid at SSP rate that they can claim back from govt. though.

P. S. Yes that is shocking from them.

@Mmsnet101 I think I’m probably going to have to use annual leave and luckily I have enough to cover it this time. It’s the principle that they are presumably going to suggest this to every single parent in the trust and some of them will have no choice but to do as they are told if they want to be paid.

And they once again have this outdated assumption that everyone has 'family' alive, healthy, nearby and not working FT themselves who can step in with childcare, money, 'help', etc. It's 2020, plenty of people don't have that at all.

If they have given you the option to take annual leave or unpaid leave I'd say they were being reasonable. I can completely see your point of view, but anything that HR offer you they need to offer all employees in the same situation, and that would be a massive cost for an NHS Trust.

And people wonder why no one wants to sign up for track and trace (or give fake details) or start to avoid testing. You shouldn't need to use annual leave to isolate. And if you have none then you're stuck with no pay for potentially months if you have to isolate over and over. It's all ridiculous.

It's really terrible and not a good strategy on many levels. Including for your parents, or your patients if indeed she is infectious and presymptomatic or asymptomatic. And this is how it spreads :-( I don't know what the answer is and can see it's going to be a big problem for working parents and their employers too :-( I guess as cases get higher there are going to be more and more parents in this situation with kids being asked to isolate at the drop of a hat. I'm sorry you have been put in this position ☹️

I’d speak to your union if you’re in one. The previous guidance was that Covid related absence is paid (including looking after a dependent who is isolating), though that was when it was a 7 day isolation. Now it’s gone up to 14 days it’s not sustainable. They could compromise with offering annual leave/unpaid leave, and you should also be entitled to carer’s leave (usually 3 days in every 12 months) which might help. You could also offer to work from home with work from a different area of the Trust to keep your salary.

Is there any way you can get a test for your DD? If she's negative send her to your parents.

@Doubletrouble99

Is there any way you can get a test for your DD? If she's negative send her to your parents.

Her daughter does not have covid symptoms so shouldn’t be tested as it would waste a test, but if she has covid but is yet to develop symptoms she would still test negative.

If you're in self isolation you can't see anyone outside your household though so how do your workplace propose your daughter is cared for by people outside your household?

I'd ask for unpaid carers leave

I am in the same boat, and also NHS. I have been supported to WFH, and have been offered cover for my on-calls (luckily I have a DH who's taken annual leave for those on-call days). WFH I can't do everything but am doing what I can. Is there anything (online training, reviewing policies, audits) you can do from home some even of the time, taking leave for the rest?

How old is she? Could she stay home alone? :)

Do you think you might develop a sudden temperature or cough OP? It would be most convenient if you did, presumably if you’re the one isolating they’ll continue to pay you...

This is outrageous imo. If the government and their services like schools and hospitals want people to isolate then they need to pay them to do so. Or they need to allow people to work.

@TheTurn0fTheScrew I have requested to work from home as I know this has been facilitated for pregnant staff members and one of them had just had her baby so I could carry on whatever she was doing

@PastelPompoms she’s only 7 so unfortunately not

@modgepodge the thought had crossed my mind but then I just get annoyed because I feel like the situation is encouraging me to be dishonest

It’s wrong but our policy is the same (also an NHS midwife). We are paid if we have to isolate but if it’s just the child we can take unpaid dependants leave only. You are right though and sending her to grandparents when potentially infected is stupid, plus you could be incubating it after spending time with your daughter and then spread it around vulnerable patients in the hospital. I can’t understand why the whole household isn’t required to isolate in this situation.

The HR department is correct - the government guidance is that you do not need to self isolate so aren't covered by the paid self isolation that NHS staff get, your daughter does need to isolate. So it is therefore a childcare issue which would be covered by the same provisions as normal childcare emergencies...special leave, annual leave, unpaid leave.

There are numerous threads on here where people are in this situation and saying it is an impossible situation. It is and I wish I knew what the answer was

If I was in your shoes I think my daughter would develop a cough and then the household would be required to isolate along with her. It’s wrong to be forced to lie but this is the situation many parents are going to be in sadly.

@Catchingbabies if she becomes symptomatic then Occ health will test her and I’d get paid until the test came back which would hopefully only be a day or two (unless positive then I’d have to self isolate for 14 days!)

My daughter was recently tested by Occy health as she had symptoms. Reported symptoms on day 1, test booked for day 4, results on day 8, back to work day 9. The testing system is very slow right now as overwhelmed so it will hopefully cover some of the 14 days. Depends on how quick your trust is I suppose. Ours isn’t actually a testing site and sends the tests to an external lab so can’t have a quick turnaround. Also depends on if she would find the test traumatic of course. It’s such a difficult situation to be in and absolutely not fair.

Your daughter should not need to self isolate in the first place. There are four scenarios in which you should self isolate and a classmate testing positive is not one of them. I am sick of schools making up their own rules, they are at the root cause of the shortage of tests and the knock on problems.

Direct contact with a positive case is definitely grounds for self isolation