Work rant

[AKP79]

Sorry girls, just need to have a little work rant... can you tell me if I?m being overly hormonal about this or if I have a valid point?

Have been suffering quite badly from back pain over the last few weeks and as my chair at work is so terrible I have swapped it for a birthing ball, which I find much comfier. However the other problem I?ve been having is I don?t have a desktop computer and work from my laptop on my desk, this mean that I?m not able to sit up straight because my laptop is so low down. I did mention all this to HR a couple of months ago in an audit they did, but nothing ever happened. However the back pain is really getting to me now so I have asked for a riser to sit my laptop on to lift it up a little higher, which should in turn help me sit up straighter. The feedback I?ve been given is ?no I can?t have one, I?ve only got 5 weeks left until my maternity leave starts and therefore £49 for the riser is a waste of money.? Can they really say that? And seriously is £49 that much when this is a massive company with offices across the world and I work here five days a week, very rarely take a lunch break and quite often put in 10 hour days and that's been throughout my pregnancy! It?s really pissed me off!

Secondly, I am having trouble getting appointments with my midwife either first thing or last thing and quite often end up with a lunchtime appointment. It takes me 40 minutes to get to work and the doctors is only 2 mins from my house, so on these occasions I have been working from home after the appointment as that way I can get more work done and don?t have a wasted 40 min journey back to the office. It?s been suggested to me that I try even harder to get better appointment times (I?m not sure how much harder I can try other than putting the requests in) or sack my midwife and get someone who understands the pressures of a working woman if I can?t secure appointments that aren?t either 9am or 5pm.

Please be honest if you think I?m being unreasonable with my annoyance because I?m getting myself really worked up about all this...

You are being prefectly reasonable. As I understand it, you are entitled to time off for antenatal appointments, so they can basically stick it with the hassling you to get different appointment times!

The thing about the riser is just silly on their part, as they are meant to adapt your working environment to accomodate your pregnancy. I used to work for a public sector organisation where there was not that much cash floating about, and a colleague there with a back problem had a special chair bought with a variable lumbar support, as that was what she needed to make her comfortable - they should be doing the same for you. If you only need the riser for a few weeks, there may be another person who could benefit from it later on - in companies I have worked for, it would just go in the supply cupboard until someone else needed it.

If they persist in being ridiculous about the riser, can you improvise with another item (e.g. a biscuit tin, small box, or similar item of the correct height. I know that is a bit sad, and you shouldn't have to do it, but it might help your back even if it isn't as good as the real thing. Alternatively, you could try a wanted request on Freecycle - I gave away a riser on our local one recently...

Good luck, and sorry that some people like to make others' lives difficult. You'll be out of there in a few weeks - makes me glad I was self employed before the DCs turned up!

perfectly reasonable, obviously... doh!

Hi catsycat, thanks for your reply and reassuring me that I wasn't just being overly hormonal, I needed to have my frustrations validated. I've managed to compromise already with the riser, one of the secretaries dug out a box file for me, like you say, it's not great, but it's better than it was!

This company's been nothing but unhelpful since I started so the latest today has tipped my over the edge somewhat!

Your rmployers are being crap, you are being perfectly reasonable.

1 - They shoudl have done a risk assessment on your working practices and environment when you told them that you were pg, and made made adjustments according eg: provide you with a different chair/footrest/lumbar support etc.

2 - You are allowed time off work during working hours by law to see your mw, gp or other medical professional for pg related appointments (my employer even lets us go to the pg pilates class at the nearby sports centre if our mws say it would be beneficial). I am not sure if they can ask you to make up this time later though.

Your HR people should be on top of all this!

Thanks for the advice Bikerun, I am tempted to get legal advice on all this... the feedback on the riser came from the HR team so they're as crap as everyone else! Am literally counting down the minutes until my maternity leave!!

I'd also speak to your work's health and safety officer/adviser/manager as risk assessments for pregnant employees and suitable workstations are things required by health and safety law. You can also ring your local HSE office if you need advice - phone number should be in the phone book.

How many weeks are you? You are legal entitled to paid time off for antenatal appointments and you do not have to make the time up at a later date. How many weeks will you be when you start your maternity leave? If the dr signs you off from week 36 they can make you start your mat leave, however no earlier than this. Alternatively would they allow you to work from home (even just a couple of days a week) until you start your mat leave? This way you can get yourself comfortable, and would also save you the 40 min commute.

Could you try telling you line manager and HR/ health and safety adviser that you are in so much pain that unless something is done to help make your workstation more suitable that you are afraid you will be forced to take time off due to back pain? I'm not saying that you actually have to take time off, but the threat may be enough to get the help you need.

Yep, you are legally entitled to paid time off for antenatal (also any sick leave related to pg cannot be kept on your record, obv with sick notes). You should also have a VDU assessment regardless of pg or not. There are not many people who can work from a laptop full time - you should have a docking station, monitor and keyboard.

Your company should have a maternity policy - perhaps your boss / line manager needs reminding of what's in it!!

Show them [this]]!

This!

Good link Bike - some useful info there.

You should also check out the website of a small charity called Maternity Action (sorry can't link on phone). They are excellent and have loads of useful info and advice.

This sounds bordering on harassment to me, I know that sounds extreme, but it is completely unreasonable to be nagging you about MW appointments when - as everyone says - it is a legal entitlement to reasonable paid time off for antenatal appointments (AND parentcraft classes, FFS, I wonder what they'd say to that!). To suggest you sack your midwife is absolutely inappropriate - why your company thinks it can set criteria around your medical care is astonishing.

I would suggest you keep a detailed record of these conversations, including the date, time, who said what and how things were left. If you end up having more problems with them in future then this will help you have evidence if you need to make a case. A few ladies on MN have had serious problems with pregnancy discrimination before delivery or after mat leave but it can be hard to remember in detail what happened after a lapse of time and it's important to have your facts ready.

Also the thing with the riser is stupid on several fronts. If you've had a risk assessment and they don't provide what you need, they are leaving themselves open to you making a claim against them should you get injured by continuing to work like that. £49 isn't much and someone else can use it after you (everyone should have a riser if they're working regularly on laptops, really).

In these kinds of ridiculous situations I've phoned ACAS for advice (www.acas.org.uk) who know what they are talking about and can tell you your rights.

Don't let them get you down! You are totally in the right here.

Hi ladies, thanks for all the support and advice! I'm going to look into everything you've all said. It's really reassuring to hear that I am not over reacting on all of this!

My job is incredibly stressful and my doctor has offered to sign me off due to work related stress a few times now. Part of me is thinking I should go for it. I need to return to work after the baby, but I have no intention of returning here. They have been really unsympathetic throughout my pregnancy and I have seen a couple of working mums in the department really struggle once they've returned from maternity leave.

I really struggled in my last pg with crap boss, chronic
pain, long days, no adjustment eg to my chair, snippy remarks about MW appts etc. So this all sounds horribly familiar.

My strong advice to you is that there are no prizes for martyrdom. Even if you kill yourself to turn up and keep putting in the hours, your loyalty will not be rewarded. You will be on your knees when baby arrives and trust me that is no way to start parenthood as that is wearing enough in its own way.

When I got pg again I resolved to do things differently. Work don't give a toss about me so I don't give a toss about them. I have brought some annual leave forward so I work only PT. I am refusing to travel. I don't work longer than an 8 hr day and I always always take lunch. And I am starting my mat leave at 33 weeks.

You need to look after number one here.