One of the additional challenges of the current coronavirus pandemic is in acknowledging the need to protect pregnant women from the virus it undoubtedly affects employment rights. As the full impact of coronavirus is unknown, there are significant impacts on those in work who are planning maternity leave.
I am grateful to Tobi from @mybumppay who wrote a recent Instagram post with me about your employment rights during the pandemic. We were inundated with more questions and comments, and there was some really helpful discussion below the post. I have added the links to relevent resources to the bottom of this page.
This blog post was updated 11th August 2020 by Dr Joanna Brecher after further guideline updates from RCOG
Pregnant front-line workers
To the best of our knowledge, pregnant healthcare professionals are no more personally susceptible to the virus or its complications than non-pregnant colleagues. However, infection with COVID-19 may pose some risks to your unborn baby which may affect baby’s growth, or increase the risk of premature birth if you become seriously unwell.
Employers should organize a risk assessment for all pregnant front-line workers, which may include an appointment with occupational health services. Your working environment should be modified to limit contact with suspected or confirmed coronavirus patients.
You should do everything possible to reduce the risks, eg hand washing and wearing protective equipment provided for any suspected case. As of the 26th March, there is a specific guideline covering occupational health advice for this subgroup, although this advice was later removed from the RCOG website.
If you are below 28 weeks:
You should be offered the choice of whether to work in direct patient-facing roles during the pandemic if a risk assessment reveals it is safe for you to do so. If a risk is identified, and you wish to continue in a patient-facing role, it might be possible for your employer to remove this risk to enable you to do so.
If it is not safe for you to continue in your current role (or an identified risk cannot be acceptably “removed”), your employer should offer alternative working arrangements (e.g. remote patient consulting or redeployment to a “green” area of the hospital).
If you are over 28 weeks, or have an underlying health condition(s) (e.g. heart/lung disease):
The RCOG clinical advice is that social distancing is particularly important for all pregnant women who are 28 weeks and beyond, in order to lessen their risk of contracting the virus.
Ideally you should stay at home and not have any direct patient contact. As above, it might be possible to make alternative arrangements for you to work from home in some capacity (e.g. telephone or video patient consulting, admin, educational, training or governance duties).
Concerns about pay and remuneration
Where redeployment, alternative working arrangements or suspension from work are considered the safest choice for you and your baby, concerns surrounding pay and remuneration might unfortunately arise.
It is important that you raise any concerns about your pay with your line manager, a staff representative or your trade union as early as possible. The British Medical Association, Royal College of Midwives and Maternity Action have published advice on tackling issues with pay affected by coronavirus working conditions.
Maternity Action has a free telephone advice line manned by specialist advisors who can provide support on a range of concerns related to rights throughout pregnancy and maternity leave, including those related to working and pay during the pandemic.
What can I do if my partner/someone I live with is a front line worker?
Advice for frontline workers who live with a pregnant woman involve ensuring they are minimising the risk of transmission. Frontline workers should wash their hands frequently (including when they leave work and when first arriving home) and wash the clothes they travelled to and from work in once they get home.
Nursing Standard has published a set of steps that all healthcare workers should follow when their shift ends to keep themselves and their loved ones safe at home. However, the advice is transferable to all workers in a public-facing role, and you can pick and choose to use the points most relevant to your family. The advice includes:
- Washing hands and forearms with soap and water at the end of a shift.
- Taking off a work uniform and changing into separate clothes to travel home. If possible, the uniform should be given to a work laundry service. If this is not available, the uniform should be placed in a plastic bag to be taken home.
- Wash hands again as soon as you arrive home.
- The uniform should be washed once you are home. Wash it alone, at the highest possible setting, and then iron or tumble dry. The plastic bag the uniform was transported in should be thrown away.
- Wipe down your phone with an antibacterial wipe or soap and water.
Everyone’s work environment is different and, as such, your family member’s employer should advise on the safest hygiene practices for their specific role in line with current government guidance for safe working during coronavirus.
However, it is important to remember that the most current evidence advises that frontline workers do not need to avoid their family members when they return home.
Resources:
- This model letter from Maternity Action is a great place to start to ensure your rights are enacted by your employer: https://maternityaction.org.uk/covidmaternityfaqs/write-to-your-employer-for-health-and-safety-protection-during-pregnancy/
- Elegibility on maternity/ paternity leave for furlough:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/parents-returning-to-work-after-extended-leave-eligible-for-furlough - Employers responsibility to arrange a risk assessment:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/mothers/faqs.htm#:~:text=How%20do%20I%20conduct%20a,%2C%20chemical%20or%20biological%20agents - Furlough during pregnancy/ proposed maternity leave:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/furloughed-workers-to-receive-full-parental-leave-entitlement - RCOG occupational health guideline for pregnant healthcare workers: https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/2020-08-10-occupational–health–advice–for–employers-and–pregnant-women-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.pdf