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Covid

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Original poster

Absolutely ridiculous-what can be done about this?

74 replies

Remoanercorona · 11/12/2021 22:11

Taking to a headteacher friend today and they said they were having a nightmare with unvaccinated staff having to isolate.
One member of staff had had 3 separate isolations on full pay. That’s a month’s work.

Surely if vaccination isn’t mandatory (and I don’t think it should be) and it’s a legal duty to isolate if you are a close contact then the government should be picking up the wage or supply bill?!
So unfair on the school and the other members of staff who are then stretched.

OP posts:

XenoBitch · 11/12/2021 22:17

I thought there was a grant for people to apply for if they were self isolating? TBH, I am not sure what the criteria for it would be, so not sure if your friend's colleagues would get it anyway.

Original poster

Remoanercorona · 11/12/2021 22:21

They don’t need a grant as they’re on full pay!

OP posts:

TheScenicWay · 11/12/2021 22:23

Maybe they should be able to take a daily lft test?

BoundariesAlready · 11/12/2021 22:24

I don't know what the answer is but it seems utterly awful if that member of staff has no medical reason to avoid getting vaccinated, for them to continue to choose not to.

XenoBitch · 11/12/2021 22:27

@Remoanercorona

They don’t need a grant as they’re on full pay!

Duh, sorry! Yeah, I see your point. The government should be footing the bill, seeing as it is them who set the rules to start with.

Twiglets1 · 11/12/2021 22:29

Vaccinated people can still catch it and quite a few vaccinated staff at my school have had to self isolate so its just something we have to accept unfortunately. It would help everyone if parents didn’t continue to send their children into school with continuous coughs and other Covid symptoms

worriedandannoyed · 11/12/2021 22:36

No way should the government foot the bill! They've offered and encouraged a vaccine. The staff member has refused so they should get SSP

Original poster

Remoanercorona · 11/12/2021 22:38

@worriedandannoyed

No way should the government foot the bill! They've offered and encouraged a vaccine. The staff member has refused so they should get SSP

That would be my suggestion but schools can’t do that currently.

OP posts:

XenoBitch · 11/12/2021 22:38

@worriedandannoyed

No way should the government foot the bill! They've offered and encouraged a vaccine. The staff member has refused so they should get SSP

That staff member is having to stay home because of a rule the government imposed. And when people bitch about their colleagues that have to self isolate that must be living the high life... they are also not allowed to leave their own house.

Macaroni46 · 11/12/2021 22:40

@XenoBitch but they're having a rest from work on full pay while their colleagues are running around picking up their workload!

TheScenicWay · 11/12/2021 22:40

It’s a ridiculous rule if they’re negative.

SavoyCabbage · 11/12/2021 22:44

I do supply teaching and it's absolutely ridiculously busy. I was asked to cover two weeks for an isolating teacher and I could only do three days and they weren't even consecutive. They couldn't find anyone at all to do the whole lot and one day the class had no teacher at all. It costs the school £200 a day for a supply teacher.

XenoBitch · 11/12/2021 22:44

[quote Macaroni46]@XenoBitch but they're having a rest from work on full pay while their colleagues are running around picking up their workload! [/quote]
They didn't choose it though.
Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Katie517 · 11/12/2021 22:45

2 members of staff at my little ones nursery are unvaccinated by choice they have isolated for 30 days so far since October, it puts huge pressure on other staff and led to one of the rooms being closed for a week because they couldn’t staff the room, which was a nightmare for parents who had to find alternative child care for a week at a days notice. I would feel so guilty to do that to my colleagues and employer but they don’t seem to care and there is nothing the owners can do about it.

vastgrandupgrade · 11/12/2021 22:47

I think this might be one of the reasons some people aren’t getting vaccinated

HeyJackKerouac · 11/12/2021 22:52

I'm SLT in a school and were having the same problem. One person is on their 3rd 10 day self-isolation on full pay. It's a local authority school and that's the policy. Our LA will cover the cost of supply teachers. Problem is, we can't get enough supply staff to cover all the absences. We are trying to function with about 25% of the workforce absent every day. We're all on our knees. So yeah, I think it should be SSP only for those who have chosen not to get vaccinated.

Macaroni46 · 11/12/2021 22:54

But they did choose it @XenoBitch!! They chose not to get vaccinated.

nancy75 · 11/12/2021 22:57

If they won’t have the vaccine I don’t think anyone should foot the bill, they shouldn’t be paid.
They have to isolate due to a situation of their own making - they could avoid it by doing what most of us have done & getting vaccinated

XenoBitch · 11/12/2021 23:00

@Macaroni46

But they did choose it *@XenoBitch*!! They chose not to get vaccinated.

Why they chose that is a whole other convo, yes? They are also keeping themselves and you safe by isolating at home. If isolating for the fully jabbed came back in (it might have already, I am not sure), then would you be so mad?

speedy1013 · 11/12/2021 23:04

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

PeachesPumpkin · 11/12/2021 23:04

Teachers at my school still have to do the planning and teach via zoom.
How has she managed to have 3 isolations? You only have to isolate if you are a close contact of omicron and it hasn’t been around long enough to have needed 3 isolations.
Are you talking about 3 isolations since the start of the pandemic? I think that would be pretty common for all teachers vaccinated or not.
It’s all very well the government saying kids don’t get COVID or spread it but as teachers have been saying from the start (even though everyone denied it last year) they do.

Macaroni46 · 11/12/2021 23:05

@XenoBitch you are (deliberately?) missing the point.
They are having time off work in order to isolate because they refuse to get vaccinated. Why should they be on full pay whilst doing that?
The rules are there for a reason.
As to why they choose not to vaccinate? In my opinion, there is no conversation to be had. There are a very small minority for whom vaccination would be inadvisable but for most, there is no excuse.
Or, if you are unwilling to be vaccinated, don't work in a public facing job.

Macaroni46 · 11/12/2021 23:07

@PeachesPumpkin if you are unvaccinated you have to isolate. That is what this post is saying: that's it's unfair that unvaccinated colleagues keep having time off work on full pay.

Skyechasemarshalontheway · 11/12/2021 23:07

@PeachesPumpkin

Teachers at my school still have to do the planning and teach via zoom. How has she managed to have 3 isolations? You only have to isolate if you are a close contact of omicron and it hasn’t been around long enough to have needed 3 isolations. Are you talking about 3 isolations since the start of the pandemic? I think that would be pretty common for all teachers vaccinated or not. It’s all very well the government saying kids don’t get COVID or spread it but as teachers have been saying from the start (even though everyone denied it last year) they do.

Unvaccinated people have had to isolate as close contacts to any covid case.

Only those vaccinated were exempt.

Justajot · 11/12/2021 23:11

My DD's teacher has had to isolate twice now and teach via Zoom. In my head I have to assume she has a medical reason for not getting vaccinated as otherwise I am just hugely pissed off with her. It's sad as she's otherwise an excellent teacher.

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