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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to think a pregnany health and safety assessment should take place sooner than 6 weeks before I go on maternity leave?

26 replies

Chequers · 07/05/2008 15:38

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kayzisexpecting · 07/05/2008 15:39

I had to have mine before 20 weeks when I was expecting ds.

Chequers · 07/05/2008 15:39

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kayzisexpecting · 07/05/2008 15:42

Dunno if it is just a company policy where I work though.

Chequers · 07/05/2008 15:46

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TillyScoutsmum · 07/05/2008 15:47

I never had one .. Mentioned it a few times and was basically laughed at

Chequers · 07/05/2008 15:48

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Playingthewaitinggame · 07/05/2008 15:53

YANBU, my DH is a H&S manager so I know a little bit about it and as soon as you give them written notice that you are pg they are obliged to write a risk assessment, they may request proof from gp/midwife that you are pg first. Obviously you will need to give them reasonable time to do this but 6 weeks before you give birth is far too long, they are breaching the The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. In fact a H&S aware company should actually have a generic one ready for all women of child bearing age to be put into practice straight away, as this is best practice

hotmama · 07/05/2008 16:00

I am pregnant with dc3 (but haven't told work yet as too early days).

I never had a H&S assessment with my 2 previous pregnancies - even though they were notified that I was pregnant!

benandsamsmummy · 07/05/2008 16:10

My manager told me he had copied the one from when i was pregnant 4 years ago as he had no time to do a new one. He seemed to forget the fact that we were using different equipment and the store room was now 3 flights of stairs up.

Playingthewaitinggame · 07/05/2008 16:28

Try looking at the HSE website. The is a useful fact sheet here

Playingthewaitinggame · 07/05/2008 16:33

You have the law on your side, many people do not know their rights and often management don't know their responsibilties. This is for the safety of you and your unborn child but also for the company to cover their own arses. Believe me, many people laugh at health and safety but if they have a fatality at work (like my husbands former company) and they are investigated by the HSE, if they don't have everything in order to the letter of the law, they will be lucky if they will get away with a large fine, if they are unlucky someone could be going to jail!

Chequers · 07/05/2008 16:47

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Chequers · 07/05/2008 16:49

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hedgehog1979 · 07/05/2008 17:36

At least you get one. I am due to start maternity leave in just over a week, and have had a routine H&S assessment but no specific pregnancy one.
And to top it off my when I ask my line manager about it she fobs me off with another excuse

worley · 07/05/2008 17:47

i work in the nhs and as a radiographer i was told it was safe for me to work in theatre BUT the theatre staff are told they cant work in there while doing xrays if they are pregnant!! huh!! how come one rule for one and not the other, amd i was working with xrays all day long, not a quick 2 minutes in theatre like them!!

Chequers · 07/05/2008 17:51

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Nero · 07/05/2008 22:46

I got a phone call from HR asking me to schedule this session - on my last day before going on mat leave!

pleasechange · 08/05/2008 09:09

I haven't had one at all and I'm 33 weeks now, leaving work in 2 weeks. I pointed out to HR that I hadn't had one and all they said was it was my manager's responsibility. I'm sure they'd be a bit more bothered if anything actually happened to me while at work, or if I was signed off sick!

suey2 · 08/05/2008 09:15

i have a slightly different perspective on this. Just because it is their duty as decided by our nannying government (or EU) doesn't make it essential. We are all grownups and i think we should be able to say if we feel that part of our job is incompatible with pregnancy. Every pregnancy is different, after all!

dilbertina · 08/05/2008 09:29

I work for a small company and the red-tape with H&S is a nightmare. We have only had a few pregnancies (and half of them were mine!). It is not always that easy to make sure you are conforming to every little bit of best-practice legislation - although I'm not saying you shouldn't try....

I think it is far more important (and useful to you) that your employer deals with you sympathetically, responds swiftly to any issue you raise, and offers some flexibility if necessary, rather than filling in a tickbox form and feeling they've done their bit.

If you already are confident that your job does not entail any pregnancy risk other than obvious things like lifting boxes etc which you can avoid,then TBH I wouldn't get too het up about it.

My view on this changes completely however if you are doing a job which does or may entail genuine risk, particularly like Worley where you cannot necessarily know the risk. The employer obviously then has an absolute obligation to investigate and explain conclusions.

suey2 · 08/05/2008 09:32

totally agree dilbertina.

cmotdibbler · 08/05/2008 09:40

Worley - that would be because you are a monitored radiation worker, unlike the theatre staff. Your monitor will (should) be showing that your abdominal (and therefore foetal) dose is well within the very tight dose limits for pregnant workers, and that therefore, you will be fine in pregnancy.

Pinkveto · 08/05/2008 09:41

Ha ha, I too have my pregnancy risk assessment 6 weeks before I finish on mat leave - and I work in the NHS.

And I only got one in my first pregnancy because I wanted to stop doing nights at 32 weeks. When I saw occ health at 28 weeks I ticked every hazard box on the form, and they were a bit freaked and wanted me to stop immediately.

Its a joke.

I dont need some one to tell me to avoid moving and handling patients for an hour as will happen on Friday morning, but I did need some serious back up when I wanted to stop doing ambulance transfers in my last pregnancy but couldnt get out of that without stopping night duties completely. Thats the sort of situation where you need the legislation and company to work for you.

Chequers · 08/05/2008 09:52

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Chequers · 08/05/2008 11:17

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