please help need some advice about my rights and unsuitable work in pregnancy...

[mustsleep]

ok so this is a little long so will apologise before hand

right i am now 22 weeks pregnant

i work as a cleaner in a school for two hours a night, there are 5 of us at work, but i am the only one that the supervisor makes work upstairs (which is two flights of metal tipped stairs) and in the outside classes which are also up four steps each

i have to carry the vac around up the and down the stairs and it's very heavy esp as i've gotton bigger, i also have to pull it around outside when its raining and even though i have pointed out to a number of teachers, people in the office my colleagues and supervisor nobody seems to think that there is a risk of electrocution

right i also have to carry heavy mop buckts etc, but everyone has to do this so while i would rather not do this i acceot that it is part of my job

right the vacuum carrying up the stairs thing i have said on a number of occasions that i would like to swap sections as mine is the only section invloving stairs and while the vac is heavy it is also just hard for me to get up and down the stairs as my bump is pushing into my lungs making me feel breathless, i have also had dizzy spells and passed out at home so i do not feel safe on the satirs at work, my biss refuses to move me from this section even though there are other employees more suitable to takeit over until afetr i have had my baby

i have also not had a risk assessment and whn i asked for one i was laughed at by my supervisor and an employee from the office, to my knowledge nonone has carried one out for me

none of the epuiment we use has been electrically tested and we do not have a COSH book even though we work with floor stripping chemicals

i have just been off work with a bad back for two weeks brought on from heavy lifting, but have been told by a colleague that when i return to work i will have o work upstairs still as no one else wants to!! although she said my supervisor would carry the vacuum for me, although she has said this before and only does it for a day and then doesn;t bother

i am due to return to work today and am really dreading it but cannot leave as i really need the money, my supervisor has also been going around telling evryone that i will not be coming back after my maternity leave finishes even though i have told her on numerous occasions that i will be

the only thing i can thnk of to do is go back to the docs and see if i can get another sick note or to start my maternity earlier than i wanted to (11 weeks before my due date)

does anyone have any advice about what i do

also can she make me work on the steps if the heavy lifting issue is removed or can i demand to be removed from that section?

please any help would be very very appreciated and again i apologise for the super long post

[funnypeculiar]

You need Flowerybeanbag - mn resident HR guru- haven't seen here around but will push her your way if I see her.

[MissChief]

ok, first off, go to yr GP, explaining the true situation and get signed off until they do a risk assessment! I'm sure you haven't harmed yr baby but it doesn't sound ideal to say the least. I'm fairly sure they have a duty of care to offer you an amended role/duties if it is felt that it is not reasonable/safe for your to be doing this while pg. Hope a legal/hr bod comes along soon but in the meantime, pls go straight to yr GP!

[EffiePerine]

Right, you do have rights while pg, more info here

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

they need to do a risk assessment. If you've been ill already, could you get a note from your GP advising you not to do certain things (like lifting)? That might help, esp if you get them worried about you being sued!

Do you work for a private company or the school? Either way, they should have a policy on this stuff - check it out. If they don't ask why.

[mustsleep]

thank you that would be great!!

[MissChief]

You know, this makes my blood boil! Your supervisor/the school are behaving appallingly. She has no right to tell everyone that you're not coming back, imo, they have no right to be sending a pg worker up 2 flights of stairs with heavy equipment . Please tell all the details to your GP so that he/she takes it seriously. PLease print out that info someone posted on maternity rights, make copies - give one to the supervisor, immediately and send one to the HR department of yr company and another to the Head of the school with a cover letter explaning yr situation.

Good luck and please don't take any risks.

[mustsleep]

sorry x posts

i do not have a union rep unfortunately

it is a small school but the council that pays my wage iykwim

i think that the people in the office don;t really know much about working in a manual job while pregnant

i explained all this to the nurse i saw that initially signed me off bt she just said that she didn;t know anything about risk assessments, should i just try and actually get to see the doc and explain to him will he have more of an idea could i ask for a sick note for six weeks? will have to go in tonight but don;t want to look like i am being petty because that is how they made me feel when i first asked for the risk assessment, will i look like i am being petty if she actually carries the vac for me

but then i have the dilema of i have to wait for hr to move it around for me (when she could just do that section herself instead of giving herself the easier bits to do) then it looks like i am tieme wasting

i did have to go to hospital last week as i lost some blood sue to womb erosion but they don;t know what caused it

[mustsleep]

thething is i feel awkward making a huge fuss as it is a really small school and ds has to go there and so will dd and this lo when he is ready so don;t want to make any enemies

i have told them that the risk assessment is a legal requirement but they were;t concerned and i don;t think they deem the work unsuitable although i'm sure it would different if they had to do it

i think i will go to the docs tomorrow if i can get in and explain the situation but kwnowing my luck they won;t sign me off

[EffiePerine]

If you've been bleeding you need to address this

Can you ring the Council and get someone in HR? It's actually a better sit (theoretcially) than working for a private company: they WILL have policies on this kind of thing, they're just ignoring them.

[mustsleep]

i'm not sure of the number and not sure where i would get it from without asking someone in the office

will have to ask when i go in tonight or see if i can find it online

i don;t even have a copy of my contract this is how lax they are although i do apparently have one

[EffiePerine]

Also, you don;t need to be awkward: just polite and FIRM. They are in the wrong, even if they don't know it!

[mustsleep]

right does this sound ok to you

i will go into work tonight, she will tellme where i am working, upstairs prob

i will say can i swap sections with someone else i have hurt my back and i am not happy about working there, i have been in the hospital with bleeding, dizziness etc and would just rather not work upstairs when i can be swapped easily with someone else

if she says no i will go to the office repeat the above and then ask if a risk assessment has been done. what should i do if they say no?

if they so no shall i just get on with it tonight without lifting anything and then go to the docs tomorrow and contact the council

[EffiePerine]

Tricky one if they refuse to let you clean another bit (which is entirely resonable). Personally, I'd take myself home at that point as it wouldn't be safe. They may threaten to sack you, but you would have a good case for unfair dismissal in that case.

Can you get hold of the council employment policies in the meantime? If you printed the relevant ones out and took them to the ofice it might help...

[mustsleep]

have tried the website it is leeds city council but can;t seem to find anything about if you work for them iykyim

[TheBigClog]

can you contact the council now, the Human Resource department - be firm tho polite of course with them, make sure you speak to the right person, ideally an HR manager. Tell them that you feel you may be working in an unsafe environment while pg and that you need their help, otherwise unfortunately, you will have to go off sick. I realise it's a difficult situation as yr child will go there but it's their responsibiltiy to provide a safe working environment, you shouldn't feel bad about asking for a risk assessment, you really need one done to protect you and the baby.
Do you want to tell us which council and i can see if i can track a name and number down?

[mustsleep]

ok then i don;t think i can walk out as i do not want to risk my job although after this will prob not being going back afterwards now

but i will mention the risk assessment again to the office if she puts me in that section, i will say about working on the stairs and then i will go to the docs and get signed off again if i can tomorrow

will try and get signed off for as long as i can and then start my maternity leave
as soon as i'm able to which is another three months

hopefully i will be making a big fuss out of nothing and she will just swap my section with someone elses

when i go to the docs can i ask to be signed off for like six weeks or something, i can just see my doc saying that i need to just sort it out with work and that she will not sign me off

am i right in thinking that you acrrue holiday whilst on mat leave and that you can take it at the end of your mat leave or is this different if you plan to not go back?

[TheBigClog]

googled and found this
www.pers.org.uk/leaflet5.pdf

Yr council have funded an advice line for employees it seems:
Pay & Employment Rights Service (PERS)-
telephone helpline is 01924 428030
they're oen now Tues 10-4!

[EffiePerine]

something here

www.corecities.com/coreDEV/OtherGroups/contact%20list%20for%20Personnel%20&%20HR.doc

[EffiePerine]

BigClog is better at this than me

[EffiePerine]

as a link

www.pers.org.uk/leaflet5.pdf

[mustsleep]

thanks everyone

will do what i said about risk assessment if they say no they haven;t done one i will phone the number up tomorrow and see what happens then

but i think they can trun around and say that as long as i am not carrying stuff up the stairs then there is no risk but i will ask to be moved and if not will have waste my time and theirs looking around for someone to carry the stupid vac for me

[TheBigClog]

well, then head of HR is the
Chief Officer (Human Resources),
Lorraine Hallam
Office: (0113) 3951600

If you call the number, no doubt you'll get through to her office/her PA rather than her but better than going thro the switchboard. Again, ask firmly to speak to the HR manager responsible for school cleaning teams and/or the manager responsible for pregnant employees/risk assessments.

[mustsleep]

ah i might be better phoning her first might i? will see what they say about risk assessment tonight when i go in