As the Government’s social distancing measures have now ended in the workplace, there is no longer the requirement for people, including vulnerable staff, to work from home. The DfE in their updated guidance refers schools to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who has recently published guidance on protecting vulnerable workers, including advice for employers and employees on how to talk about reducing risks in the workplace. The HSE guidance in relation to pregnant staff says: “There is a long-standing requirement for employers to put in place measures to ensure workplace safety where a significant health and safety risk is identified for a new or expectant mother. Some pregnant workers will be at greater risk of severe illness from coronavirus. Employers will need to take this into account in their risk assessment. If you cannot put the necessary control measures in place, such as adjustments to the job or working from home, you should suspend the pregnant worker on paid leave. This is in line with normal requirements under regulation 16(3) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.” You will therefore need to consider your workplace to determine if you are able to put in sufficient control measures. You should do this by reviewing the risk assessment for your pregnant employees. You may also want to consider whether a specific risk assessment is required for pregnant individuals, with mind to their specific job requirements. Your risk assessment should consider the risks to pregnant women as well as considering what action may need to be taken to mitigate those risks; this could include considering amending duties so that they carry out other work in school i.e. in an alternative role which you may be able to better implement the system of controls, or if none are available, working from home. Each pregnant employee’s role needs to be considered on its own merits and there is no blanket rule that requires them to work from home at any stage during their pregnancy. Particular attention should be paid to those who are at or over the 28 weeks gestation and you may need to change your arrangements for these individuals or where a pregnant employee has a specific medical condition, making them at greater risk. If the risk assessment cannot remove or manage the risks, then working from home (or if not possible, then paid leave) may be the necessary action. So ultimately whether a pregnant employee can remain in school will depend on whether the risk assessment can mitigate the risks sufficiently in either the current role or a different role in school. Alternatively, if you can’t ensure this then they would need to work from home or if there is no work for them to do at home, they would need to be suspended on full pay.