School closed....isolate..no pay

[swimmingc]

So had a message to say DS bubble at school has closed. Ds is 7. He has to isolate so I have to take 14 days off work unpaid. I have worked through lockdown and am lucky to have not been furloughed but AIBU to think now I have to take 14 days unpaid leave off work I should be entitled to some kind of pay. I can not afford to lose 14 days pay. No other childcare option. No annual leave as work term time. Feel like crying.
What are everyone else in same position doing?

@Frazzled2207 even though I have now sorted childcare/work out I will absolutely still email my MP. There will be a lot more in this position.

I truly sympathise, I do. But equally, what would you do if your child had measles, or chicken pox or mumps? You'd be in the same situation? A child with an infectious disease (potentially in this case) You must have some sort of back up system or how do you cope normally?

This made me laugh. Measles and mumps are both avoidable by vaccination and you only (usually) get chicken pox once. Surely you get that the situation OP is in could happen repeatedly throughout the winter? It is totally different, and impossible to plan for. It could happen once, not at all, or every two weeks.

Could you get some temp childcare in? I'd urge people to sign up to nanny agencies and the like as I know a lot of nannies (I am one) who would do some temp work like this... you'd probably be paying most of your wages on it but might be a better alternative to 2 weeks of completely unpaid.

It sucks. I feel for you!

I know a lot of nannies (I am one) who would do some temp work like this
out of interest, how much would you expect to be paid per day for 8 hours, two children and also, would you expect to go from one self-isolating non-symptomatic/asymptomatic child to another without being tested yourself in between assignments? (if one child has been exposed to a positive case?). I am not in the childcare sector but my agency wouldn't allow me to potentially cross-contaminate.

Re: self isolating. It depends where you live. Where I live (Scotland) our local authority requires the whole household to isolate for 14 days.
DD was sent home from school today after one of the kids in her class has been in contact with someone who has tested positive.
He has no symptoms but needs to isolate for 14 days.
As he’s been in school my DD’s class all need to isolate for 14 days and as per the new rules all people living in the same household of all the students in the class now have to isolate too.
So that’s DH and I now both potentially without pay for 2 weeks as the grant scheme hasn’t opened up and we both work for small companies who are already struggling due to having to close earlier in the year. At a push we might get SSP.
The government really needs to sort out these sorts of issues or people will just continue to break the rules. I know a couple of parents who have already said they can’t afford not to work so just won’t self isolate and not tell their employers about the school sending kids home.

@ThanksForAllTheFish

Re: self isolating. It depends where you live. Where I live (Scotland) our local authority requires the whole household to isolate for 14 days. DD was sent home from school today after one of the kids in her class has been in contact with someone who has tested positive. He has no symptoms but needs to isolate for 14 days. As he’s been in school my DD’s class all need to isolate for 14 days and as per the new rules all people living in the same household of all the students in the class now have to isolate too. So that’s DH and I now both potentially without pay for 2 weeks as the grant scheme hasn’t opened up and we both work for small companies who are already struggling due to having to close earlier in the year. At a push we might get SSP. The government really needs to sort out these sorts of issues or people will just continue to break the rules. I know a couple of parents who have already said they can’t afford not to work so just won’t self isolate and not tell their employers about the school sending kids home.

Have you tried to get a test?

You don't get a test for no symptoms - why are people not understanding this?!

In local lockdown areas in Scotland the whole household has been asked to isolate. Dont know how sustainable that is if you have bills to pay

@sociallydistained

Could you get some temp childcare in? I'd urge people to sign up to nanny agencies and the like as I know a lot of nannies (I am one) who would do some temp work like this... you'd probably be paying most of your wages on it but might be a better alternative to 2 weeks of completely unpaid.

It sucks. I feel for you!

Who would take that job? You’d be knowingly going into an environment that substantially raises your risk of having to isolate yourself for two weeks and/or catching covid.

As a PP pointed out I don’t think I’d want someone in my home who was merrily going into isolated households and I certainly couldn’t afford to pay for two weeks extra isolation if they did isolate between jobs.

@dementedpixie

You don't get a test for no symptoms - why are people not understanding this?!

In local lockdown areas in Scotland the whole household has been asked to isolate. Dont know how sustainable that is if you have bills to pay

Completely right. I misread the post above.

@ThanksForAllTheFish

Re: self isolating. It depends where you live. Where I live (Scotland) our local authority requires the whole household to isolate for 14 days. DD was sent home from school today after one of the kids in her class has been in contact with someone who has tested positive. He has no symptoms but needs to isolate for 14 days. As he’s been in school my DD’s class all need to isolate for 14 days and as per the new rules all people living in the same household of all the students in the class now have to isolate too. So that’s DH and I now both potentially without pay for 2 weeks as the grant scheme hasn’t opened up and we both work for small companies who are already struggling due to having to close earlier in the year. At a push we might get SSP. The government really needs to sort out these sorts of issues or people will just continue to break the rules. I know a couple of parents who have already said they can’t afford not to work so just won’t self isolate and not tell their employers about the school sending kids home.

I dont understand why your dds class has isolated if there wasn't actually a case in the class. Did Test and Protect tell you to isolate or just the school?

[quote swimmingc]@Flynn999 I work for NHS so I don't think they furloughed anyone [/quote]
Check with your covid hr helpline - I'm assuming all NHS trusts have one

We have been told that you can have up to 12 days prorata a year for situations like this (which they have put in due to COVID - it's the example they give that your child has to self isolate, you don't but you have noone else to have the child and are unable to juggle any other way (so if you have a partner who could have them on Sat and Sun and your job can be done on the weekend they'd expect you to work those days)

Please note that wasn't what the manager said - but that is what the GUIDANCE says and HR backed that up (I'm assuming it will be the same in all NHS trusts)

It should be 5 days a year carers with NHS. Can you make the time back for the other days. And yes totally crap

Test and protect and the school. We all got letters from test and protect/NHS headed paper telling us the whole household has to isolate for 14 days. This is the third class in our school in the last two weeks that have gone into isolation.