boss says doesn't have to make allowances for pregnancy.............how to advise friend

[violeteyes]

hi, i am hoping someone can help me guide a friend, she has had historical issues over sick leave with a former boss at same shop so noy feeling very assesrtive or informed about her rights

she is 24weeks pregnant and having an averagely rough time of it, compounded by regular traveling to see her dying mum
she is asistant manager at habitat, and often works 7 day stretches, workes shifts with no formal breaks and is up and down stairs/on her feet etc. she has requested a risk assessment but not happened yet

last week she took two days off (first time in over a year)because totally exhausted after very busy weekend as only manager on.also very swollen hands and feet.her gp wouldn't give her a note as said they would dock her maternity leave. she has been told she will not be paid as her new male boss says he is often tired and it is no excuse to have time off
he has verbally agreed to no more lone working and that she can say if she needs to do things sitting down
he says he has looked into it and he doesn't need to make allowances for pregnancy
is this right?

hope someone can help!

[NoBiggy]

He does in the sense that he must do that risk assessment she asked for.

Tired staff make mistakes and have accidents, no? Sounds like a risk to me.

She should assess the risks herself, then when he finally does it she can say what he's overlooked. Because most risk assessments are rubbish as far as I can see.

There is a pamphlet about the risk assessment, from HSE I think. Downloadable, I'm sure.

And keep on about doing it. I'm sure he's breaking the law by not doing it.

[potoroo]

No I don't think that is right at all.

She should not be docked maternity leave at 24 weeks even if it is due to pregnancy either.

Hang on - will look up website for you.

Her company should have a very clear policy on this too.

[alison222]

ry this link for beginnings of details of risk assesment - I haven't looked in detail but it refers to another page where you can see what they are supposed to cover in a risk assessment

[potoroo]

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkAndFamilies/DG_10026556

This is the legal minimum that the company must provide. Some pertinant points:

Pregnant employees have four key rights:

*paid time off for ante-natal care
*maternity leave of at least 26 weeks (52 weeks if the week your baby is due begins on or after 1 April 2007)
*maternity pay benefits, usually Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance, and in some cases a Sure Start Maternity Grant provided they meet certain conditions
*protection against unfair treatment or dismissal

"Employers also have certain obligations to ensure the health and safety of pregnant employees." There is more info on the website.

The employer can force you to start maternity leave if you have an illness relating to pregnancy from 36 weeks, but not before (so GP is WRONG). And more importantly:
"treating days off sick due to pregnancy as a disciplinary issue " comes under the heading of Discrimination in Pregnancy.

So both GP and employer are "misinformed" to put it politely.

[alison222]

here it is

[daisyandbabybootoo]

Potoroo has summed it up. Your friend is being treated abominably and her GP is misinformed.

She needs to sit down with her manager and HR to discuss these issues and she can have someone she trusts with her as a witness. I would've thought that an organisation like Habitat would have a fairly comprehensive staff policy set out for maternity procedures.

[violeteyes]

thank you for your replies-i was sure her gp was totally wrong.
i am planning to print this and other relevant threads for her

[violeteyes]

thanks also for the links - am i right in inferring that stress can also be a pregnancy related illness? and exhaustion? her exhaustion cannot be compared equally to his can it?

[callmeovercautious]

Putting a Woman of Childbearing age (i.e. includes Pregnant Women) at risk is in breach of H&S regs. They HAVE to do a risk assessment immediately. If she is lifting or carrying and lone working I would count it as an unacceptable risk and change her duties. If an employer cannot ensure her H&S they should send her home on full pay until they can give her a role that is safe for her and her unborn Child. I am sure they can find her work to do in such a large store.

Make sure she takes her rest breaks, these are especially important during pregnacy. There should be an area where she can rest.

In our business we allow extra rest breaks and allow them to have a lie down in the First Aid room if they need it (unless it is being used but that is rare!). They are also prevented from any lifting and handling or exposure to harmful chemicals etc (including things like tonor cartridges).
HTH

[BetsyBoop]

your friend should shove the HSE booklet under her bosses nose...

he has to carry out the risk assessment (he's breaking the law by not doing so)

[flowerybeanbag]

Unless I am going bananas, how on earth can someone's maternity leave be 'docked'?? Was that the GP that said that?
Depending on the employer's sick pay policy, it is possible she wouldn't be paid for taking time off.
Weird that GP wouldn't give her a note, would the midwife write a letter saying that she is insisting your friend needs to take it easy/be excused various duties at work?

Also regards 7 day stretched and shifts with no formal break see following working time regulations

a limit of an average of 48 hours a week which a worker can be required to work (though workers can choose to work more if they want to).
a limit of an average of 8 hours work in 24 which nightworkers can be required to work.
a right for night workers to receive free health assessments.
a right to 11 hours rest a day.
a right to a day off each week.
a right to an in-work rest break if the working day is longer than 6 hours.
a right to 4 weeks paid leave per year.

As you can see your friend must have at least 1 day off a week, and a break if she works more than 6 hours straight. And this is without being pg. Unless she has opted out of the working time regulations?

Agree with nobiggy she should do a risk assessment herself and present her boss with the results. And her GP.

No more lone working and being able to sit down if she needs to is a start, but not sure where her boss gets the idea he doesn't need to make allowances for pregnancy. If your friend puts her or her baby's health at risk (which she will) by overdoing it/not having risks properly assessed and dealt with, he could be in big trouble. This is a time when it is better to play hard ball and insist on what is due to her, it's not worth trying to avoid confrontation/putting up with it for an easy life with a difficult boss when it comes to something this important.

[alison222]

also try this

[vonsudenfed]

Agree with all of this, but would just like to underline what someone else said about getting in touch with HR.

Habitat is a big company, and will want to do things by the book (even if the individual manager is an arse). After all, every last bit of what he is doing is illegal, and that wouldn't look very good for them in the papers.

If i was your friend, I would firstly make sure she knows her rights well - all the links are here. Then ask for a meeting with HR and her boss, sending an email to HR, saying that she is 'concerned' about some issues, and make sure she lists all of the points.

The odds are, HR will give her manager a rocket up the arse, and she will get what she wants without any further fuss. And she'll have had the pleasure of drawing their attention to what a git he is.

"he doesn't need to make allowances for pregnancy". My arse. That alone is a discrimination case waiting to happen.

[RibenaBerry]

I think I've worked out where the GP got in a muddle about 'docking' her maternity pay. If you are off sick with a pregnancy related illness is the four weeks before you are due, it automatically starts your maternity leave (i.e. you don't get to go on sick leave, your maternity leave starts instead).

At least, that's the most logical misunderstanding I can come up with...

[vonsudenfed]

And just to answer your question about stress - no his exhaustion is not comparable to hers, and if he has a problem with it, he should raise it with HR, it has no bearing whatsoever on her situation.

I had a look at the HSE booklet, and some of the common risks in pregnancy include: long working hours, stress and standing for lengths of time. So I think he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Do come back and tell us what Habitat HR say....

[vonsudenfed]

[reads further]

And the booklet also says, interestingly, she shouldn't be signed off sick.

The onus is on her employer to, firstly adjust her working conditions to allow for the risks. If they can't do that, to move her to similar work, at same rate of pay. And if they can't do that, to sign her off work on full pay.

I'd print that document out violeteyes - the one that alison222 linked to - and use that to write to HR.

[Judy1234]

Some companies do not pay you when you are off sick (until day 4 when SSP kicks in) so in that sense you may be unpaid off sick.

He certainly isn't handling this very well. If her mother is dying she can probably have unpaid time off for that emergency as well.

However it is possible he is really really exhausted himself and not sure how to cope and that might have caused how he's treated her. He may be up all night with a new baby or have cancer or something. We just don't know.

[violeteyes]

thankyou everyone, i shall give her all this stuff this evening and then it will be up to her, hopefully this will help her fight her corner!