or is my boss? (swine flu alert!)

[EllieorOllie]

I'm on maternity leave, i'm a teacher, I have a sixteen week old baby and a two year old. I'm supposed to be going to school this afternoon for a handover meeting for next year, unpaid and out of the goodness of my heart.

However, on wednesday a swine flu outbreak started at my school. It seems to be spreading like wildfire. I phoned up this morning to try to cancel my meeting, given that 0-5s are predicted to be the highest mortality group, and i'd rather not tempt fate. However, my boss completely stonewalled and refused to even consider cancelling. This is the same woman who shut the school for 3 days in February because of snow...

Can i mention again that i'm not even getting paid for this meeting...

My Boss was arsey over this this morning too, a colleague has had to fly to germany to be with her son on a school trip has he has swine flu and is in quarantine. He has said she is NOT to come into work next week if she is back under any circumstances. I asked whether we would be paid if we were told not to come in and he said it was discretionary! WTF! If i am well enough to work but they tell me i can't surely they must pay up?

YANBU

Can't believe your headteacher won't tell you who the children are! That would make me immediately suspicious...

Can see why you want to be/need to be around for the end of term, but equally your baby and your health are paramount. In my previous school i had to take time off while pregnant due to parvovirus outbreak. Schools are such unsanitary places!

So what did you do?
You were NBU

Schools are not allowed to say who has swine flu due to confidentiality.

ELlieorOllie - why would that make you suspicious? THis is the guidance given to all schools and they have to follow it.

Ref your employer making you go in for a meeting whilst you are on MAT leave, they cannot make you! You are entitled to up to 10 'keeping in touch days' which will be paid. However, these days have to be mutually agreed. Please see link below....

www.personneltoday.com/articles/2006/10/10/37563/take-advantage-of-keep-in-touch -days.html

Ref the SW outbreak, stand you ground! I guess this post is too late, but hopefully you find the KIT info useful. If you work for a school, if it is local government, I presume you should have a school and/or County Council maternity policy, which should have a bit within it about KIT days, and/or a KIT request form for payroll for payment of these days.