Covid and going to work

I am so sorry you are in this position while caring for your husband. It must be such an added worry for you that you don't need  at this awful time. 

I have been looking after my husband who has stage 4 tonsil/base of the tounge cancer while working.  I work as a Team Secretary for the NHS in Mental Health services. As we had and continue to have so much Covid in the hospital I normally work in I had no choice but to take sick leave for the first few months.   When my sick pay was due to run out my manager (who is really supportive) informed me that  under NHS Health & Safety Policy I was not allowed to return to work in the office  while my husband is undergoing cancer treatment. He told me as my  employer they have a duty of care to staff and that it would not be safe for me to return due to the high risk of me catching and passed Covid on to my husband. I am now  working from  home whilst caring for my husband.

I know you said you can't work from home in your role  but could your employer possibly make some adjustments to your role for you given your circumstances ?  Maybe working reduced hours or at quieter times where you can reduce  contract with others etc.  Also do you have a Personnel Dept you could get advice or from or a Trade Union Rep? 

 Surely your Employer has a duty of care to you too. I really hope you can get something sorted out.  Sending you and your husband best wishes. Take care.

Caroline 

Hi nikkiwire and welshpony - this is a real worry for me too. My husband has lung cancer, I am a nurse in nhs and am scared to return to work. I was off sick for 6 months and have worked from home for another 6 months - but under HR who want a full return to work or my resignation.

I have the support of union rep and Maggies employment support worker - both have been great, but there doesn’t seem to be a way round things. I am trying to find the least financially disastrous  way of leaving my job - it is too stressful dealing with the return to work meetings.

I feel like they think I am neurotic for worrying about getting covid at work!

X

I thought the NHS of all people should be understanding which it seems they have been in Welshponey's case but not for you. Surely if you are working from home, they should be allowing you to continue with that. I'm going to see if I can be given an alternative job that I can do from home, otherwise I have no option but to go off sick, assuming i can get a sick note.

Hi Nikkiwire

Just to let you know before I began working from home I was discussing that I had to take  sick leave  with a nurse that was treating my husband  on the ward of his Cancer Centre.

She told me that she had also taken sick leave for 6 months to look after her own mum who had terminal cancer. When her sick pay ran out she returned to work briefly for (I think she said 35 days) and was then able to go back on sick leave until sadly her mum passed away.  She told me that apparently it would be  classed as a different episode of sick leave so she could have full sick pay again. 

Although the nurse worked for a different NHS Trust to myself surely there can't be that much difference in NHS policies.  Also my neighbour who is a Physiotherapist with the same NHS Trust as myself was given an admin job after her sick pay finished to enable her to work from home when she was treated for breast cancer.

I hope you can sort something out with your employer.  Otherwise  I am sure you won't have any problems getting a sick note. Take care.

Caroline