am i being discriminated against cz im pregnant??

[mumt1]

Ok, so I'm at college studying health and social as I would like to be a paramedic. To complete this course I have to do a 2 day a week placement in a care home for 6 weeks.which I will be starting from 18weeks-24weeks. My college refuses to put me on placement cz its apparantly to high risk, I am 21 and have clearly stated its my choice and I want to do it and take responsibility. They said no, as I'm again, pregnant. So I'm due end of april, which then also means iv got to take a few weeks off, I said I would come bk no matter what to finish(its my 2nd pregnancy and I did come bk to a previous course when he was 2 weeks old). She said she wnt let me do that. I have to take the full 6 months maternity so I cnt carry on with my course. I feel very upset as its my dream and feel discriminated against cz I am pregnant. I shud be able to give my consent on work placement. Without doing it, I can't do my course.

Sounds to me like you are. I am doing a teaching course and I know that I can still do my practicals when pregnant, as long as I feel up to it and the school I am doing the prac in approves. Is there a supervisor or counsellor you can speak to about it?

According to Direct.gov, you only have to take 2 weeks statutory leave (or 4 weeks if you work in a factory) after you have given birth, so according to UK law they can't force you to take 6 months off - www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Pregnancyandmaternityrights/DG_10039631.

However, you would need to look in the full student handbook to see what they say. If they say everyone has to take 6 months off before coming back to uni then you have a slightly wonkier leg to stand on, as they can say 'well, you should have read the manual properly' and they can stick to their guns about forcing you to take time off. I don't think that would be a clear case of discrimination because it is a policy that they apply to every student.

I'm a carer for a service user in their own home. When I had my risk assessment done at about 14 weeks I was told that were I working in a care home, I probably wouldn't have been able to continue with full duties, such is the physical demand on you but as I was working in a private home and always on double ups, the areas of work I couldn't do someone else could pick up whilst I did the lighter stuff. I should say though that the only things I didn't do once I was pregnant was lift the ramp on my service users car as it's really quite heavy and once I had bad acid, I never washed their lower half of the body, I always did the top as I bending down made my acid worse (and as the pregnancy progressed I couldn't breathe as was all squashed up!)
I do think however that the not being able to come back when you want to is discrimination, the stuff with the care home is probably H&S and risk management.

Your colleague has stated that this activity is high risk, and therefore cannot be authorised in pregnancy. You need to find out on what she has based this statement.

If it is a proper, in date, and relevant H&S assessment, then not only can she 'discriminate" in this way, it's actually the correct and legal thing to do.

Yes I think you are. Being on placement should just mean observing rather than working. I have continued with my Msc all the way through my pregnancy whilst working in a high risk are lots of women continue to work in Places like A&E so can't see why this should be any different.

I think they have a point. I was a carer for 12 years (nursing homes, residential homes and out in the community. I'm taking a break while pregnant), and quite honestly, I'm glad I'm out of it while I'm pregnant; manual handling issues, hoists etc. Possible violent residents (which I have had before), the list is endless. Hubby hated the idea of me back in a nursing home.

Plan on going back to it in about 4 yrs time.

She should be working with you to properly assess the risk. They should have a standard form that highlights each risk, it's effect on you and whether or not it can be mitigated. I work in construction and was visiting active building sites up to 34weeks thankfully I stopped then because DS made an early appearance. The only changes I made was getting new steel toe cap boots (my ankles swelled) not climbing ladders towards the end and continually reassuring the site foreman that I wasn't going to go into labour and they'd have to drive me to hospital in the back of a transit
She needs to sit down and go through the risks with you and what if anything can be done about them.

Thankyou, ok so the home I want to visit, is an elderly residential home. I have just phoned them and they said they where happy to have me as it was no potential threat of dangerous patients and that there would be plently of stuff I can do that wud help me pass my course yet stay safe. My tutor was so rude to me and I've been in tears constant since 2pm! X

I used to work in a care home, and there were employees getting pregnant AND CONTINUING TO WORK THERE PREGNANT all the time. They would have to do a risk assessment for you, but there should be plenty of work that you can do in a care home even whilst you are pregnant. So yes, sounds like you are.

The rules about discrimination in employment dont apply to placements which are part of college courses.

Yes but there are rules about discrimination in education against pregnancy.