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?

Your HR is right as pp explained. It is your dd who has had direct contact and not you so at this stage only she needs to isolate so this is a childcare issue not covid.

I appreciate though that this makes it incredibly difficult especially for single parents but if they make an exception for you they will be inundated. In my public sector employment we have had so many people off just because they need to self isolate if we extended to include them looming after dependants who have to self isolate we could really struggle to provide services.

@Florencex

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.

If she is a "close contact" of the child who is positive - which honestly with a 7 year old they won't do doing any distancing in school - then she needs to isolate.