Help! Work want to repaint our office

[Mars2012]

Hi all,

I have a wee dilemma. I am 10weeks pregnant and have not told anyone yet except parents (husband knows) and my work are planning to repaint some of the walls in the office. I didnt want to tell work until after my 12week scan which is in 2 and a bit weeks and their planning the painting for next week. I have said paint fumes makes me feel ill and asked to be moved whilst it's being done but both floors are being painted and there just looking to move me upstairs when doing downstairs and upstairs is being painted first, but there will still be fumes in the office and I'm really worried this might hurt my baby.

What do I do?

Don't worry about it - you'll not harm the baby.

Do the windows open? Sit near one and you'll be fine.

Yep there are quite a few windows upstairs I'll just have to fend off the people who will complain its cold!

It will be fine. If you are nauseous, it might make it worse. Just go with 'paint smells make me ill and light headed' and ask to sit near a window. Then if people want to close it you can legitimately object!

Doing renovations at the moment, so I've looked into this a little- most indoor paints are 'low voc' which is fine, the fumes you want to avoid are 'high voc' which is more like eggshell or I think gloss type paints, which would be making everyone else feel yuck too.

It will be fine, my work painted a massive section of the floor in gloss. It knocks me sick at the best of times. Just keep a window open in office :)

It's best if you're not in the same room when they're painting, unless it's well ventilated. So being in the room the day after they painted is fine. If it was ventilated, the fumes should have gone. You may still smell it, but that shouldn't contain any chemicals.

As others have said, if you're near an open window & not in the room that's being painted, you should be fine, don't worry. Hope the smell doesn't make you feel too rubbish, & congratulations!

It'll be fine. My whole house is being redecorated and I'm 5+6.

Difficult for work - particularly as they don't know. Reminds me of a girl who worked with us who wanted us to stop the cleaners when she was pregnant - the place might have become a bit of a health hazard over nine months!

Could you quietly tell your boss, so that they can understand your concern?

I would go for informing your boss in strict confidence and requesting a specific risk assessment.

I did this in almost identical circumstances and just got told to work from home. ( and gave the excuse to anyone who asked that the paint triggered migraines)

You are legally obliged to tell them really, because they have a legal duty to protect you and the unborn child, which they can't do if they don't know.

If you tell them in confidence there won't be a worry about gossip, it would be a disciplinary issue if the boss blabbed.