3rd trimester social distancing and work

[Phiphi123]

Hi, hoping for some opinions please.

My job involves working in an office and visiting people in their homes. I am a key worker. In my first trimester when coronavirus really kicked off I worked from home as per the government advice from pretty early on for pregnant women.

Since mid June I have been going into the office 3 days a week with a risk assessment about how the office has been made safe and also saying I should only be visiting people in outdoor spaces. Quickly the pressure mounted for me to go back into homes which I have been doing with masks/gloves/hand sanitizer.

My 3rd trimester starts in a couple of weeks and I mentioned to my manager, casually, last week that as per the advice from RCOG at the time, I would be planning to work from home for my 3rd trimester. She was horrified about the prospect of me not being able to do my visits and told me to wait and see if guidelines change.

So annoyingly the RCOG guidelines have been slightly tweaked to remove any mention of home working, now saying women in 3rd trimester should be particularly attentive to social distancing. My view is that I cannot adequately socially distance in the office (no one following the 2m rule or 1 way system) and it is very difficult to ensure social distancing when in someone else’s home and having a job to do- so I want to work from home again in my 3rd trimester. It is not impossible to do my job from home but it is difficult and I know my manager is going to massively pressure me to continue to come into work. I am also Black so at an increased risk if I do catch it.

Do you think I’m within my rights to refuse to come into the office for my 3 days a week and insist I will only work from home for the 7 weeks between start of 3rd trimester and maternity leave?

It’s a tricky one, the guidelines have become so vague so technically your employer has a point but tbh I think it’s worth arguing your side and try to work from home. Has your employer made any effort to acknowledge your increased risk due to being black? I’m Asian and both myself and my husband have received emails and updates from our work acknowledging increased risk towards the BME community with steps they’re doing to reduce risks. My pregnancy risk assessment also has been amended to include my ethnicity as putting me at a higher risk. I’m a nurse (although currently on the bank rather than full time employment which may make a a difference) and I have been signed off since I begun my third trimester because of this

My work place is general has acknowledged increased risk for BME workers but as I said I’ve felt lots of pressure from my manager to get back to business as usual and half the stuff in my risk assessment has gone out the window. I am going to see what midwife thinks and raise it with manager next week. I’m not planning to return to this job after maternity leave so I am prepared to really stand my ground I just wasn’t sure how much grounds I technically have. Thanks for the response

Look up something called 'suspension from work on maternity grounds'. Basically based on health and safety regulations from 1968 which says that if your employer cannot make your work space safe or if you feel you are not safe at work (all includes Covid-19), then you are eligible for suspension on maternity grounds. This is what I've had to do with my work (a vet) and means although I have to stay at home, I get full pay until I start maternity leave (I'm currently 22 + 3d). I can't work from home though so this was the only option for me.

Talk to HR. I was in a slightly similar situation; work did not want me to work from home any longer and I did not feel safe going in. We reached a compromise that I would be on paid leave from 32 to 36 weeks and then start my maternity leave.

Currently having this dilemma with my work place. Consultant told me after 28 weeks women should be shielding and that it's in rcog guidelines which he put on my maternity notes. Work have said because of the wording on rcog we are just vulnerable so should still go back to work.

What it's come down to is if I don't return to work it will be classed as sick and cos I had an attendance warning due to my fibromyalgia I would be penalised. If it goes down as maternity sick leave then they'll make me to go on maternity early. So i just have to suck it up and go back to work for at least 6 weeks or whatever before my maternity starts in September though. if for any reason I did catch corona at work after they kept dismissing my reasons I sure as heck would go beserk on them.