HELP!! I've passed on tummy bug to child...

[buzzy bee]

What do I do about this? My sickness policy states they pay full fees if their child is off, nothing if I'm off sick.

I have had a tummy bug and they know this. I'm looking after LO today and she's just had a yukky nappy...

a) am I immune or should I still exclude her?
b) if I exclude her should I still charge because technically it's my fault!

Thanks

[FussyElmo]

When were you ill?

[JCrakers]

I would take in to consideration the following if it was me...

Did you close with your sickness? If you closed for 2 days I would still charge them as you did what you could
Or did you advise parents you were ill and give them a choice to still bring their children? If they decided to send their children then I would still charge them

I suppose the only way I couldn't charge is if I was ill and didn't tell them, but then they wouldn't know Id been ill at all and that wouldn't be good practise for keeping children safe and healthy

If you did everything to stop the spread then I would still charge as no one can be to blame. You could have caught the bug off someone else so it wasn't your fault.

The way I see it is we work with children who bring all sorts of bugs with them and we cant stop it spreading even with stringent cleaning, nose wiping, mouth covering when coughing etc.

It could be a different bug which you wont have immunity to, so you could end up with another bug. I would keep her off

[buzzy bee]

I was ill on Friday and I don't work Fridays so I didn't have to close...

[buzzy bee]

But I looked after LO last Thursday which is why I suspect it's the same bug

[FussyElmo]

If I had been closed for the 48 hours after being ill then yes I would send home and still charge. Its what the exclusion period is there for to stop the bugs being continuously passed round. No you wont be immune as it could be different bug and in all fairness I don't think you ever can be immune to a sickness bug.

If I had worked with a bug I would be sending her home with no charge to prevent the bug being passed round.

[FussyElmo]

I was ill on Friday and I don't work Fridays so I didn't have to close...

Then you did what you had too you cant be blamed for the lo being ill now no saying its the same bug

[Koala]

lo has probably been ill all weekend with the same bug that you had?? but your safety has not been thought of by the parents. Yes, i'm synical

I'd send lo home with plopsys and exclude for 48hrs because otherwise you are just going round in circles with bugs - and no, you are not immune.

Have fun

[buzzy bee]

Thanks for the advice... well I've tried calling and texting parents and still not heard back!

Feel so sorry for these little ones who get sent to us / left with us when they're poorly. They should be at home with their mummies or daddies

[hectors house]

If you last had this child on Thursday and they have got runny nappies today then maybe they have been ill since the weekend or they have caught the bug from someone else as these germs normally go through little ones far faster than adults so would be unlikely that they caught it from you and today is the first day of being ill.

[bunyip]

The lo might have caught the bug from you.

Or, you may have caught the bug from the child. Transmission and dormancy of viruses/bacteria do not adhere to a strict timetable. Put crudely, the first puker didn't necessarily get the infection first.

But, it's far more likely you each caught it from separate total strangers in entirely different checkout queues/bus stops/etc/etc.

Each of the above scenarios would be almost impossible to (dis)prove, even with the services of a fully-equipped medical laboratory.

The only important thing is that you have followed your policies in respect of closure for for your own sickness; exclusion for the child's sickness; and food management for both.