Financial solution for pregnant women who can’t work from home

[Merlina920]

Hi there,

I’m coming here asking for advice to all pregnant women who can’t work from home (hospitality jobs for instance ) who have been advised to stay at home for the next 12 weeks now that we’re considered at risk.

I’m 15 weeks pregnant, working in a cinema and as of today the cinema got closed to the public to promote the safety of the staff and customers.
(I’ve already been isolating myself for the last 5 days cause I was getting worried about the situation and my intuition was telling me to stay in. I was offered SSP for this week of isolation. )
Everyone has to come to work (doing some deep cleaning, chores etc etc) and have been told they’ll be paid the number of hours written on their contract. (In my case it would have been 30h/week).

Today my manager called me to let me know that this could not apply to me though as pregnant women are now at risk category and should self isolate. Therefore I can’t go to work as I would need to use public transportation + be in contact with all staff members who don’t self isolate.
The only solution that has been given to me is to be put on SSP for the next 12 weeks which is £94 a week, which means I’m losing 70% of my salary.

As you can imagine I’m both furious/extremely worried about my financial situation and all of this sounds like a big joke to me.

If anyone here is in a similar situation, what financial solution have been offered to you?
And if you’re more knowledgeable than me (I’m not originally from the UK), what would be your advice ?

Thank you very much!

No advice just a hand hold. My husband was sent home from work today unpaid. Not sure how long for but at least 3 months. I'm 26 weeks pregnant and have a toddler and I don't earn! It seems very insane to me.

You need to tell your manager he is allowed to employ you to do the same work as the others, that you are prepared to do that work and if he does not you will take it to a tribunal. (Also remember that the Government has not ordered pregnant women not to work and they don#'t even know if they really are at any particular risk)

If necessary I would see a solicitor even if you just pay for 30 minutes of advice. It will be worth it considering all the pay you would lose. I am assuming you are a PAYE employee not self employed.

Try Pregnant & Screwed or ACAS for legal advice

I think people are getting confused over the advice. We're not self isolating for 12 weeks (yet, anyway) - we're social distancing as the general public should also be, the govt have just said that we should particularly be taking care to avoid unnecessary social contact.

We should work from home IF POSSIBLE, and if it isn't possible our employers should be trying to modify our role so contact with the public is as minimal as possible.

As NHS staff, in my trust this means I go to work as normal but exercise social distancing by not going to large gatherings, avoiding supermarkets, cafes and such like. Therefore my risk is reduced but not as much as if I could work from home.
They've said if a patient comes in with symptoms or is a confirmed case I have no contact with them.

All of this until the advice changes again, anyway!

Government advice is to be “social distancing” rather than self isolating if pregnant. You can use public transport if essential, which includes work. Read the advice here and send it to your boss if you think you could work. www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

MooChops' post should be on the Government's coronavirus website - nice clarity and very helpful for people.

In terms of persuading the boss you might not want to pay for a solicitor's letter but if you have a union get them involved and if possible I would go into work when all the others go into work so you are continuing to be there and thus should be paid. If he says hey why did you turn up today smile and say - ah we got it wrong - I am allowed to work so here I am! Have a print out of the advice in your pocket to hand over.

Hey everyone,

Thank you for all your messages.
Really helpful and now waiting for an answer from my employer who’s trying to find a better alternative for me.

I know that we’re just supposed to avoid social contact as pregnant women and don’t have to self isolate per se, but I personally find it completely unreasonable and irresponsible to put my baby’s health at risk going to work when most country in Europe are under lockdown.
I just think it makes no sense to tell pregnant women that the virus is bad enough for them that they should be part of the at risk group but not bad enough to stay at home and prevent putting themselves at risk of contamination.
Maybe it’s just me being paranoid about it but it’s my first pregnancy and just 15weeks, so I’m trying to take it with an approach of “no unnecessary risk taken” and going to work (commuting in the tube, walking in central London, being around my colleagues who are all young and healthy and not particularly worried about the virus) constitute a major risk for me as for now.

But thank you very much for taking the time to answer this thread. I hear all your opinions and it’s very helpful

You are misunderstanding the guidance and don’t understand the difference between self isolation and social distancing.

Ah just reread

Tell him he’s effectively medically suspending you so should be paying you

You need to read the guidance better. You are not putting your baby at risk by working and if you therefore choose not to do the work allocated your employer is entitled either to pay you nothing or if they are kind give you SSP which they hope in due course for small companies the state might pay the employer back.

Listen to the government press conference if you have time from the day before yesterday I think it was when they said they have no idea if it has any impact on pregnant women at all but to be on the safe side they might want to limit social contact.

Are you a union member?
Does your employer usually offer contractual sick pay (ie for actual sickness)?
Is there any useful work you could do for the business either from home or at work while avoiding contact with colleagues?

If you're a union member you should contact them, if not try the Maternity Action helpline.

I think I understand the difference between self isolation and social distancing, it‘s just that social distancing doesn’t really seem that big of a measure and doesn’t really protect me from contamination risk as I explained earlier.

I’ve also read that it’s not supposed to hurt your baby. But the study is very small and only done on women in their last trimester. Which is why I feel concerned if I were getting the virus this early in my pregnancy. I mean infections and pregnancy are rarely a good mix, why this should be overlooked with this specific disease?

I’m not part of any unions. But I’m going to ring the maternity action helpline. Thanks!