Working from 28 weeks pregnant

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Does anybody know what the guidance is with working with the public from 28 weeks? Have been furloughed since jan due to being pregnant and employer has said i can return to work from monday. Midwife has told me its upto employer discretion if they can have you working or not, although my gp receptionist has told me to ring the gp in the morning for a call back because she says that from 28 weeks your not ment to work with the public, its all very confusing

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-pregnant-employees/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-pregnant-employees

I've had advice from occupational health today regarding working in a school which I imagine will be similar, caveats are that I am pretty healthy and having a low risk pregnancy. Essentially if your employer can ensure that you can maintain social distancing of 2m at all times or 1m+ extra measures and they have the other things in place which makes a workplace covid secure then you can be in.

Fantastic thankyou ladies, im due to go on maternity leave next month so was hoping i could go back to break up the time between furlough

I’m a waitress and have gone back to work - I’m 29 weeks. I’m wearing a mask, distancing where possible and washing hands etc. Since I’m low risk and healthy, I don’t see any reason why I can’t work until I go on maternity leave a few weeks before due date.

NHS front line staff are being called back in now past 28 weeks in my trust. I was one of the last to be working from home because of pregnancy. I think there is still a lot of local interpretation of rules. DH who has been shielding throughout got called back in to client facing a few weeks ago. Your employer still has a responsibility to do a risk assessment and ensure your work place is 'covid secure'.

@Fispi haven't frontline NHS staff been offered the vaccine though?

That's good to hear Fispi. I'm frontline and peripatetic in an acute general hospital and hoping to try for DC2 soon. I'm really hoping things have changed by that time so I don't have to be stuck at home/forced to take maternity leave earlier than I want.

Yes @EdithGrantham they have but understandably not all staff feel comfortable due to the lack of evidence in pregnancy. I had mine and felt happy to have it.

@WetJan auditing from home although a good learning experience is incredibly frustrating when you're used to the pace acute care and emergencies. I took all my AL so I only had 4 weeks to get through at home.

MP Stella Creasy hosted a webinar with experts from the RCOG and Pregnant then Screwed on Monday night with great advice. She said it was being recorded so should be online. The risks to third trimester mums and babies haven't gone away.

@Fispi, yes of course, I just wondered if that was an argument for it being safe to be bringing them back as, like @Flittingaboutagain says, the risks are still there.

I really need to watch that Stella Creasy video but I think it's becoming more obvious to my school that they cannot be considered covid secure with the age of the children we have.

Im planning on ringing my gp surgery this morning to get a call back from a dr just so i can get accurate information, as like i said the receptionist told me that unless guidance had changed within a day pregnant workers from 28 weeks shouldnt be working with the public

My employer had me working from home from 28w but it was really up to me what I wanted to do. If I'd insisted on being in the office they would have made it safe so that could happen. I'm now 30w.

@PurBal i was furloughed in jan because i have HG and struggled to keep a mask on in work for any length of time, iv been told to return on monday and that il only be going back half shifts which was my choice, i will only be back 4/5 weeks and then my maternity leave begins but im just so confused as to why the gp receptionist would say from 28 weeks no public facing roles, i cannot work from home so i just want to speak to an actual dr who will tell me plain and simple what iv to do

Have you asked your mw op?

Also do you have any annual leave to use?

@THATbasicSNOWFLAKE Yes spoke to MW she advised to contact GP who i spoke to this morning, its okay to go back to work/be working at 28 weeks providing you take extra care. I have plenty annual leave but saving it for before and after maternity leave, i finish up on the 27th may 👏🏻👏🏻