This is already an uncertain time for everyone. Add in having a baby, and that’s a new level of complexity. I am speaking on a webinar to discuss this subject on Thursday 7th May 2020 which I will post here when I have the recording, but thought it might be helpful to highlight a few key points.
One of the questions that comes up is: Can my company make me work if I feel afraid and don’t want to? This is a difficult one to answer as it depends on the job that you do. A company has a duty of care to take reasonable steps to make your environment safe, and if your job puts you at risk, your employer will need to either adjust your working conditions to remove the risk, offer suitable work (for the same salary) or allow you to be suspended from work on paid leave. Defining the risk is to ask ‘would being at my workplace put me and the health of my baby at a higher risk?’. Examples of this type of job may be frontline workers who cannot guarantee distancing, or a job which puts you in danger such as heavy lifting. What I think will be interesting as we move towards going back to work in offices for example is the emotional feeling of safety along with the concern over physical safety. New conversations will need to be had between employer and employee following this pandemic.
The next common question we are hearing in the HR world is: Can I be put on furlough if I am pregnant? The answer is yes you can. You are are still entitled to all the same benefits you would have had had you been working in the normal way, such as SMP. If you are due back from maternity leave in this month or next month, you may wish to return sooner if your position at work has been furloughed. As I write, the grant from the government in the UK for furlough will teminate at the end of June. This means that if your company change the position from furlough to non-furlough, you will be expected to work. Keep this in mind before speaking to your company to bring your return date forward.
If you are pregnant and newly on maternity leave, this may be a scary time. Hopefully you are able to have your partner with you at the hospital when the baby arrives and having a baby in the midst of a pandemic won’t feel as scary as you might fear. Two friends with new babies have both been accompanied to the birth and are now in new parent lockdown with a newborn. You could argue that being at home, is the perfect moment for the arrival of a baby!
Wherever you are on your maternity journey, keep in touch with friends and talk to your support crew, whoever they may be. You are not alone.
More info on maternity and coronavirus can be found here.