To think that this is not ok in the workplace?

[Sallysu]

Interested to see what others thoughts are on this!

We have had a local school close due to the number of Covid cases, we are a small business but a few of the parents of the affected kids work here.

My workplace has put in force a new rule in order to keep the business running:
if you have been in contact with a positive case then please isolate for 5 days and then do a pcr, if it's negative then you can return to work.
Time off must be taken as sick or holiday. Of course they can't enforce this, but they are asking their staff to stay away if possible so they don't risk spreading it to the rest of us and we can continue to stay open.

The owners have kids in this school. They (including the child) are in work. Not having to isolate, they are doing lateral flow tests but not pcr tests.

We just don't understand the logic! Are we being unreasonable? Why should we take time off to protect the business if they don't have to?

A case of do as I say, not as I do.

Or, If the school is closed, then maybe their children haven’t been in contact with any known cases yet?

The owners’ kids are in the school, but the school is closed. Their children are not a risk from being at school.
They’re not asking you to do anything connected with the children. Simply asking you to stay at home for 5 days if you are a close contact. Who says they won’t do that too?

@Cocomarine

The owners’ kids are in the school, but the school is closed. Their children are not a risk from being at school. They’re not asking you to do anything connected with the children. Simply asking you to stay at home for 5 days if you are a close contact. Who says they won’t do that too?

They're in work with their child today...

And it’s nice for them to be able to bring their child in… and they need to consider carefully the impact on morale of different rules. But - it’s their business. They get the upside of being able to bring their child in, but they get the downsides and risk of running a business too. In the small business that I’ve worked in, staff have been pretty accepting of different rules for owners.

Yes, they’re in with their child today. But are you saying the child is a positive case? I don’t think so. The child may have been in contact with a positive - but the parent hasn’t. They’re not asking you to stay home if you’ve been in contact with a contact.

@Cocomarine

Yes, they’re in with their child today. But are you saying the child is a positive case? I don’t think so. The child may have been in contact with a positive - but the parent hasn’t. They’re not asking you to stay home if you’ve been in contact with a contact.

Perhaps I didn't explain it right.

Any parent with a child in that school cannot work without a negative pcr.

Their child attends that school but they are not abiding by their rules. This is what we don't understand!

If they are requiring staff to isolate for periods in addition to those required by the government, then they should provide full pay for those days. Because that's their business decision, not a consequence of a national or regional public health directive.

If fully vaccinated, you do not at present have to isolate at all, even if a direct contact, and if not fully vaccinated, then it is 10 days (not 5)

They can’t force you to use up your annual leave based on their new rules. Using sick leave for the 5 days is reasonable if it is paid.

Why are you certain that they or their child have been in contact with a positive case?

If schools are closing there is no compulsion for kids to stay at home, even if they’ve known contacts of positive cases. Known contacts should get PCR’s on days 2 and 8 after the known contacts took place.

Many of the children may not even have been in contact with a positive case, so asking parents of these children to do PCR’s is odd. They would have to lie to get one.

@RoseAndRose

If they are requiring staff to isolate for periods in addition to those required by the government, then they should provide full pay for those days. Because that's their business decision, not a consequence of a national or regional public health directive.

If fully vaccinated, you do not at present have to isolate at all, even if a direct contact, and if not fully vaccinated, then it is 10 days (not 5)

This is the problem, or how we feel anyway. The affected staff members are exempt from isolating. Whether their children have been in contact or not they are asking for the parents not to come into work and expecting them to take holiday or sick pay. Legally the parents don't have to isolate so why lose money or use up holiday pay if the owners don't have a problem with them or their child being in the workplace anyway? That's what we find so odd!

There are two separate issues here.

The first one is whether you all choose to do as asked or not, as you say, it can't be enforced. Perhaps as a group you could say to them that you are happy to isolate over & above the legal requirements, but you need to be paid, OR you will continue to follow government guidelines.

They don't get to make up new rules AND expect you to pay for them

Second point is that it's their business THEY take all the risks. Them isolating is a much bigger problem than a staff member, so they have to balance the risks & decide what to do. They have obviously decided that them coming in is a risk they're prepared to take v the consequences of them not. That's THEIR

I'd assume they had no one to leave the child with, so had very little option but to bring them, but hopefully they're limiting contact with the staff.