Employee rights and breaks! Help!

[jwww]

I'm looking at work rights during pregnancy and I came across this

When the employee tells her employer she’s pregnant, the employer should assess the risks to the woman and her baby.
Risks could be caused by:
• heavy lifting or carrying
• standing or sitting for long periods without adequate breaks
• exposure to toxic substances
• long working hours

Most of them are self explanatory but with regards for sitting or standing, what is classed as long periods? And what's classed as an adequate break?

I work in retail and spend most of a 9 hour shift standing expect for 1 hours lunch. A lot of his time is moving about walking around helping customers, does this count as standing? Also when I am on tills I will be standing in the same spot for potentially 2 and a half hours does this could as a long period, and what does adequate break mean!!!

I keep asking my manager about the health and safety assessment and he keeps telling me we have loads of time, I'm coming up 4 months now when should this be done?

Any help is gladly appreciated!

I have done these assessments with staff before. It's quite individual it's a case of working out what works for that member of staff, as everyone has different pregnancies.

Also we did a few assessments as things progress over the pregnancy.

For example we'd do one a soon as we knew they were pregnant and then set a date for the next one a few months later.

We usually did 2/3 over the course of a pregnancy. You certainly should do one asap IMO.

Well, I would agree that it would largely be based on how you feel. If you are comfortable at the moment doing your regular duties then that's fine, but if you find it too uncomfortable to stand for that long then I think that would count as unreasonable and they should make adjustments. Could they get you a chair to use when at the till for example?

As for when the risk assessment should be done, I'd say it should gave been done by now to be honest. Indeed a lot of people find the first trimester the hardest to get through (with sickness, exhaustion etc) so they shouldn't be assuming that only late pregnancy needs risk assessing.

Sorry as background I had a month off work over July and August due to morning sickness after being hospitals with cramping also, and I've cut my hours back to 16/20 a week rather than the usual 30/40. I've also stopped heavy lifting.

I've always been a bit achy after a shift but now I am finding the evenings and day after I work i get round ligament pain quite badly,usually also more intense in the same place my lower left side. Maybe it's a coincidence but I'm also usually sick the day after a shift (daily morning sickness went about 2 weeks ago).

I usually work 3/4 days in a row and the day off following this I am usually worn out with tiredness, vomiting and cramping!

It's definitely not unreasonable to ask for a chair when you need it. Amended duties in retail aren't unusual in pregnancy as there's a lot of standing involved. It's definitely something you need to bring up with your manager if you are having trouble coping. If your manager still won't do anything I'd advise contacting your HR department. I work in retail and was given a chair with proper back support. Do you have any holiday hours available? I took one day holiday a week for the last month so that I was working 4 days a week instead of 5. It really helped. Worth discussing with your manager also. I hope it all works out well for you

I've been told I need my MAT1b form first

When I worked at primark all pregnant women were put on till duty and given a chair, I'm not sure if there was a set time in pregnancy to start this but ask if it's possible if your struggling!

The matb1 is only required for maternity pay reasons so is not required for anything else related to you working in pregnancy

Assessment to be done as soon as manager/HR informed of pregnancy. For us that was essential, as we worked with chemicals, and some are not advised for use during pregnancy. In fact I could tell you now what take should be stopped as soon as your pregnant in tat lab still (and avoided those areas as much as possible as soon as I knew I was pregnant, before anyone else knew). Waiting til 25 weeks in that scenario is crazy.

Prolonged is longer than is comfortable for you and your pregnancy.

If your hours have been cut, has your pay been reduced?? This could impact your entitlement to full SMP. Check out what your working hours and pay are likely to be 18-25 weeks pregnant, and check your entitlement.

Jwww it is the law to do a risk assessment for you waaaay before you get your MAtb1 form
Contact hr please

Pregnant retail manager here - you need a risk assessment now.

Glad your manager has made some adjustments to your duties - that shows they're not a complete ass - but a risk assessment protects you and your employer.

For example, I work for one of the most well known, fairly posh, British retailers. I can't duty manage my store any more as we have problems with shoplifters and drug users. Even my midwife was surprised.