WFH after testing positive

[RingPiece]

I have a question and want to ascertain what the general situation is like in schools at the moment.
If you test positive for covid and are isolating at home, feeling ill but not too ill (aches, pains, fatigue - like a bad cold, but not as bad as flu, and probably something that you would have worked through had you not tested positive), would you be expected to still meet data, report, planning deadlines?

A friend is in this exact situation. She's feeling tired and really wants to just rest and get better, but has been told that she has to meet all the end of term deadlines and that she's got plenty of time to do this as she's WFH.
I know she has to become more assertive but this isn't the first time I've heard of a school expecting a lot of staff isolating at home.

If you test positive for Covid then you are off sick and no expectations can be made of you. We had one teacher who tested positive and had very few symptoms. They chose to do some wfh as they were able to but it wasn’t expected and they didn’t attend staff meeting or undertake remote teaching.

She's off sick surely. Big girl pants on and phone in sick and state expectations followed by an email that she's sick.

Thanks! I fear a precedent was set at her school by a teacher who delivered full days of live lessons to her classes at home whilst off with covid. Definitely time to stand up for herself.

Depends, if you're asymptomatic or self isolating because you've been in contact with a positive case, then I think it's fine to expect WFH.

If you're ill, you phone in sick, only the person in that position can make the decision on whether they are well enough to work or not.

Presumably she's an adult and can decide whether she's off sick or not?

OP says she tested positive so not self isolating.

We've had asymptomatic staff who did continue to WFH. Anyone symptomatic is off ill and treated as such.

If she’s symptomatic then she is ill and it should be treated as sick leave. There is emerging evidence that the people who try to push through mild to moderate symptoms are the ones who are more likely to develop long Covid.

Thank you.
She has reiterated that she's ill, though now has been asked, 'How ill?' so I guess she'll need to state that ill means ill or something to that effect. It's more that her school are not understanding or accepting that she's actually ill, rather than her not being upfront with them.

It seems there are now 'degrees of illness' where she works: you can be feeling ill and are contagious so need to stay at home and not work, or you can be feeling only slightly ill and are contagious in which case, you are expected to work whilst at home. Wasn't like this before covid. I've pointed out the long covid evidence, thanks, ThanksItHasPockets.

Yes she definitely needs to reiterate that she is not well enough to work.
Lines have become blurred somewhat with covid and people isolating etc. It's important to be crystal clear that she is not working.

Yes, that's right. I think use of the term 'isolating' has become confused. If you're isolating, it is assumed you are asymptomatic, but obviously, you would also need to isolate with a symptomatic positive result.

It depends. At our place if you’re ill you’re marked as off sick and no work in expected. Many staff who had Covid But were well enough to work were keen to work from home and not have the sick leave. They were then expected to meet deadlines.
Each member of staff made their own decision: some were ‘sick’ for 5 days and then working from home for 5.

You've said that it's more like a bad cold and something the person would normally have worked through. If that's the case, I don't see why the school shouldn't expect them to work at home. I think it would be absurd to suggest that everyone who tests positive is automatically too sick to work.

I'm not a teacher but my sister is and when she tested positive for Covid she taught from home, delivering live lessons, throughout her isolation period. She wasn't feeling quite right, but not bad enough to go sick.

Obviously the only person who really knows how they are feeling is the person concerned, so I'm certainly not going to say that she should be working, but people make judgements every day about whether they are well enough to work and I don't see why this is any different, just because it's Covid.

Self certify as being unwell, set a days cover as usual, rinse and repeat until better.

Job done