Pregnancy, work and "reasonable adjustments"

[FellOutOfBedTwice]

Hi all

Just looking for any experience/advice on this one.

Am a teacher in a secondary. Contracted two days a week. Previously full time before the birth of DD in 2013.

Had an HG pregnancy then with the added fun of an impacted wisdom tooth. All in all I was signed off for 5 months and came back for half a term before my maternity leave.

Am now pregnant again- 15 weeks. Had a tear in the placenta at 6 weeks which signed me off on bed rest and continued pelvic bleeding. Also suffering from HG again (although dealing with it better and swifter this time). Have been signed off now since the middle of January.

After a chat with my GP this week where I said I wanted to do some work but that I know I'm meant to be taking it easy and that if I push it I will end up hospitalised with HG again, he floated the idea of "reasonable adjustments". Have spoken to my Head of Department but she didn't have a clue and told me to speak to my line manager as she may have a better idea of if this is possible. What would this even look like in teaching? I know sensibly with the sickness and the bleeding that I need to be sat down, have access to food and drink whenever I need it, not have to climb stairs, not have to carry anything heavy. Basically the total opposite of my job.

What should I be asking for, is it realistic, so they have to do it and has any one got any experience? A friend works as an ambulance driver and she couldn't do that due to SPD in pregnancy, but they just put her in the depo doing paperwork. There's no real equivalent in teaching.

All advice and thoughts welcome!

[FuzzyOwl]

Ask for a meeting with your Head and HR (if you have one) and go through what you can and cannot do. If the school cannot accommodate it and cannot find any alternative work for you, then you would remain off sick (assuming your GP is in agreement).

I have no idea about your situation, but an example would be for you to request that you always have the same classroom so that you aren't carrying anything (somebody else can take anything necessary to and from your car).

The school does not have to accommodate you and it is something that you might have to have several meetings about if they do, in case you are able to do more or less as your pregnancy progresses.