EMPLOYMENT ISSUES - PREGNANCY

[MUM1519]

Hi!

First of all let me apologies for the long post!

I work as a Criminal Solicitor. I am currently 19 weeks pregnant.

I have a couple of issues where quite frankly I don’t know whether I’m in the right or wrong !

1. As part of my job I am expected to attend at a police station to give advice to anyone who has been locked up and requested our firm, to provide this advice I am placed in a room with a unknown individual on my own. Should a risk assessment have been carried out in respect of this? I feel I am particularly vulnerable when in this situation and even more so as my bump grows bigger!

1. In respect of the police station I am expected to work “on call” one night per week and one weekend per month. I do not believe this is part of my contract but it is something I have done since I started. I am expected in work at 8:30am the following day even if I was at the police station until 4/5am! I thought it would be reasonable to ask that I am taken off the out of hours rota when I get to 26 weeks. Does anyone agree? And do my employers have to agree if I request it?

1. I had a week off last month due to hypermises. My employer pays 2 weeks in arrears and 2 weeks in advance. So technically they had already paid me for my week I took off. They will now deduct that week from this months pay - which is fine. However, will this now affect my entitlement to SMP? My wage will still be way over the weekly expected earnings is averaged out but technically I will be getting less on paper for one week in October than the required minimum for SMP even though it’s for a week in September ??

1. When I take maternity leave next year I know I accrue holidays. I get 20 days per year plus bank holidays. Does this mean I can add them 28 days on to the end of my maternity leave??

TIA x

I am going to answer section 2 - on call. I am an employer of vets and nurses on a 1:4 rota like yours. I have several pregnant employees, there is no one date we set to cease on call. We assess it as part of our risk assessment along with several other areas and review.
The last vet to gone on maternity leave continued her full duties till 36 weeks the one before that went on maternity leave at 29 weeks and the one before that worked till 36 weeks, but did more limited on call from 30 weeks. There is no one right answer.