Work sent a lady home yesterday with cough,breathing trouble, temp but she isback intoday?!?

[Wankerchief]

Sent home at 5
Rang in today and said a paramedic tested her and said shes fine possibly a chrat infection so is back in fir her night shift. Manager says this if fine - has seenno test results but its fine and that because they sent her home not self isolation it fine.
Im on shift with her and worried we work in a tin box with no ventilation

This cant be right, i cant refuse to work with her apparently
Do ambulance crew test people?

Wouldn't surprise me if that guidance on the gov website is for the old strain when the new is so much more contagious. It needs updating I think.

I would say the person to contact you is your employer. If they don’t who does? What about the customers? Do they have a right to be notified given this is a food related business?

Your bosses are trying to hide the outbreak to keep the place open whatever it costs.

@Pythonesque

That gov.uk advice reads to me as if the employer is expected to take responsibility for determining who the contacts of a positive case would be, and telling them to isolate.

No, AFAIK it is still down to the positive employee to report close contacts to Test and Trace, who then instruct anyone identified to isolate. The employee sounds like the type to lie. The only other way for the OP to be entitled to isolate (and receive SSP) is to pretend to have symptoms and drag out the test and results for four working days until SSP kicks in.

I remember reading PHE should be notified if 2 positive cases at the same time in a workplace, but they may have relaxed that given the current numbers! It was on gov.uk in the advice for workplaces section

You will have to self isolate if you have symptoms #justsaying......

Sorry to read all this OP I work for a similar shitty retail company, they like to look good but .....

PHE take employers not allowing staff to isolate & encouragement of employees to attend work with symptoms extremely seriously.
Do not worry about approaching them they are helpful & discreet.
I deal with them quite a bit.

^ meant to say that is both as a contact and a confirmed positive ^
It’s even worse if the staff are public facing.

Please ring your environmental health team. They have covid enforcement officers and this would be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

Your employer is beyond shocking. I hope you and your family are ok.

Op are you actually working for a major retailer, or do you work for a franchise?

I ask becayse I know one at least operates under a franchise system, so the owner of the franchise would be making rhe decisions

I hope you’ve not got it and you did the right thing speaking up.

@Wankerchief I am pretty sure you’re in England from what you say but this organisation might still be able to point you in the right direction. They help advise employees with H&S concerns. www.scottishhazards.org.uk/

@Wankerchief

So we've all been informed that per government guidelines we cant cant self isolate till im contacted by test and trace so im due in on weds. The manager linked to the gov page where it does indeed say that. Crazy

Op, I had a postal test sent off last tuesday and had to call for the results today. I was told by the NHS admin staff that once you send a test off you should isolate until the results come through - which I had done - and mine were negative. If mine had not been negative I was told that I would need to continue to isolate until a total of 10 days had passed, and that I had no temperature.

Sounds like your place of work is making the rules up to suit their own agenda.

The trace people will only call you if the lady tells them you have had close contact with her. Then you will have to isolate. Even if you get a negative result you should continue to isolate for the full 10 days.

I know this as I had to do this.

My understanding of food manufacturing places is that the employer should work with local public health team in local authority to issue communication about isolation etc. I don't know if its the same for restaurants.
So sorry you're going through this.

Sooo our particular company has a talk app
I put my dilemma on there, kept it friendly and factual just the bare bones that we have actual positives and those who have had contact are being told that inline with the gov thing to come in and just checking this is ok...

Its fucking erupted. Thankfully I've had some concrete advice from highers than me that i will act on tomorrow so as a minimum i can isolate and get ssp despite the govs come in till your contacted thing, I can bypass it all if i call someone tomorrow they will help me do that.

I cant leave my job, get no benefits and wouldn't be able to sign on if i quit.
Im stuck here for now and have to be careful. My wage is needed.
Id love to give them the finger and swan out but my family relies on my wage.
Id love to be all fight the man and take them on but we are a breadline family and i cant risk it right now. Our 19yr old son becoming very ill and bed bound has hit us hard emotionally and financially and i don't have anything in me to give it, too scared tbh

OP, I think you could suddenly come down with a vomitting bug and get yourself home.....

I’m sorry you’re in this situation your bosses are irresponsible and unreasonable

@Wankerchief - that's good work, hopefully you'll be helped with the situation now.

Glad you've now got some support from someone more senior in the company.

That's totally sensible OP. Nobody should be encouraging you to quit or start a campaign in your circumstances, do what you need to do for yourself and your son, because your employer certainly does not give a shit, unfortunately.

OP, in the guidance you have posted, although the top bit is missing, this seems to be a list of when you need to self-isolate.
It clearly says when your employer ... notifies you that someone in the workplace has tested positive.
You all know that someone has tested positive but your employer is trying to hide that. They were under an obligation to immediately tell everyone to self-isolate when the woman showed symptoms.

This is such a scary read. What dreadful interpretations of keeping employees safe. I feel for you op. Fingers crossed you are negative and look after your poor son.

So today has been good. Another positive case came forward, she sent her results right to head office with her concerns.

Area manager has got involved and has isolated absolutely everyone on our shift pattern and she will make sure that our isolation notes get to payroll. We also all got a call to talk about the situation and to be fair she listened and was very clear that they don't support the management teams stance and said that will be fully investigated and we will all be updated.
She also made reporting covid cases or just symptoms available to everyone so there can be no more delays or lax reporting. All reports go to her alone and she made it clear we isolate regardless of confirmation or if we don't feel safe and she will deal with it.
Our store will be closed for the next few days for cleaning and management training and we will get those days as extra hols today even though we are all off isolating.
It gives me some breathing space and we can all Isolate as we should without fear of losing our jobs.
I have to ring her with my test results from Monday when I get them and if it is negative she will arrange for a test for Saturday which will be day 9 so I can be sure before I come back and for piece of mind.
If it's positive then she will switch me over on the system to positive confimed sick leave and extend my ssp without having to give it in to my boss and deal with them.

Great news that the head office took it seriously, what your manager was doing was hugely irresponsible.

I hope their threats also go away, that’s no way to manage a team. Exposing staff and clients willingly after confirmed cases should be penalised!

That's great news, well done. Hope you're negative.

Oh OP that has gone someway to restoring my faith in humanity. What you were posting at the beginning of the thread was just awful. I hope they blast your so called "management" for their arrogance and stupidity.

Fingers crossed that you remain well.