@Rainbowafterthestorm thank you for this! you are right that it does mention healthcare workers specifically, and of course you are right that pregnant women can work. However as far as I can tell, this guidance for healthcare workers does or can still apply to pregnant women in certain public facing roles, especially those in which it's particularly hard to socially distance- in particular in education, the DfE links to the RCOG guidance www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools
It says:
Staff [working in education] who are pregnant
Pregnant women are in the ‘clinically vulnerable’ category, and are generally advised to follow the above advice, which applies to all staff in schools. Employers should conduct a risk assessment for pregnant women in line with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSW).
The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG) has published occupational health advice for employers and pregnant women. This document includes advice for women from 28 weeks gestation or with underlying health conditions who may be at greater risk. We advise employers and pregnant women to follow this advice and to continue to monitor for future updates to it.
So - basically you are right that there are a lot of confusing and misleading links going around and a lot of misunderstood guidance. Employers and HR don't understand it anymore than anyone else. However, it is my understanding based on reading the RCOG website that the document "Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and pregnancy – guidance for healthcare professionals: Version 11 – 24 July 2020", published here, www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-pregnancy/, was designed for healthcare workers (clearly, it's in the title) however, their advice for pregnant women more generally is taken from this document- they say here- www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-pregnancy/:
Our clinical advice for pregnant women on the risk and potential implications of being severely affected by COVID-19, particularly affecting those who are at 28 weeks' gestation or above, still stands.
However, specific guidance on how and when pregnant women can safely work should be advised on a individual basis, following employer-led workplace and indvidual risk assessments. [this is important as obviously it depends on the setting- some would be totally fine to work as usual as long as they want to, some would not]
The RCOG recommends that employers use the clinical advice when performing mandatory risk assessments for their pregnant employees, along with other sector-specific advice published on the UK government, Working safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19) and NHS Employers websites.
OK so this is a little confusing still but I am reading this as that they published the document for healthcare workers as clearly they're the most vulnerable plus it's much harder for them to socially distance at work, BUT they're applying it to all pregnant women, and so putting the onus on employers to ensure that social distancing is possible for all women in third trimester. But- then it's not really explictly laid out that that's the case anywhere on the govt website that I can find, besides obviously the DfE as I've mentioned. It seems to still be very unclear and open to interpretation which is massively unhelpful as no doubt it will be applied wrong.
If you are getting any other information, please share it as I am searching everywhere and everything I find is a little different and so it's basically impossible to get some clarity. This is the best breakdown of what I understand as I can find!
