Is this pregnancy discrimination?!

[Hollydogs]

Ok, I work at a supermarket, on my last shift, I went in feeling fine, saw they were advertising more jobs on my department and asked if possibly I could get more hours, I said I'd didn't want weekend day (I have two children already and my partner works weekends so I have no childcare), he said it wasn't a charity it was a business but to talk to my manager when he was back.

Later in my shift I started feeling quite unwell and dizzy, I went home with this a few weeks beforehand. I had lots of problems with dizziness and passing out during previous pregnancies which they aren't aware of as only been with this employer for 6 months and I'm 4 months pregnant now.

Went it speak to my team leader again and asked if I could go on checkouts for the rest of my shift because of how I was feeling, he said "we'll I have no choice" and was clearly unhappy about it.

After being on checkouts for a little while I got sent on a break. After i had bought my lunch and was going out of the door of the shop, he came up to me and stopped me (whilst I was on my break) to ask if I would be returning to my own department today, I said I didn't feel it was a good idea today. He then said it would be better for me if I came back, then asked me why I asked for more hours and said I wouldn't get any more hours if I kept going off on checkouts feeling ill. He also said I wasn't doing anything on checkouts (I thought it was better to be in checkouts than go home ill again which I can't afford to keep doing, losing money if I go home ill)

I'm feeling really angry about the way I've been treated by him, as it's a pregnancy related problem, I had no issues with illness when I was not pregnant. Before I was pregnant they said I could have more hours. I'm not sure what to do or who to speak to about how he spoke to me.

Specifying that you cannot work any weekend days due to childcare issues is probably not going to help you get extra hours. I assume this is a supermarket which is open every day and until late evening? It's perfectly reasonable of them to say that they cannot give you extra hours if you cannot work when they need you, and is not necessarily pregnancy-related at all.

Do work know that you are pregnant? Have you had a RA done?

If you go sick at my work you aren't allowed to book extra shifts for a certain amount of time after - i think 1 week. So this might be quite standard.

I believe it's different if your pregnant, I think there are curtains laws employers must follow for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. The hours that they are advertising are not all weekends, there are plenty of other people who don't work weekends. My partner works at the same place so they all know he works weekends. I'm not being awkward.

What laws are you talking about? Yes, there are some measures in place to protect women who are pregnant, on maternity leave or breastfeeding but there is nothing that specifically says e.g. you have to be offered extra hours just because you ask for them. They are also not obliged to take into account that fact that your partner works weekends when considering offering you extra hours. It would be nice if they did do so, but the needs of the business will come before accommodating your childcare issues.

I asked before if your employer is aware you are pregnant and if they have done a risk assessment? If you have a history of fainting while pregnant it is important that you make them aware of this and they can, if possible, make adjustments (perhaps by having you work more frequently on checkouts)? This might also stop the unwanted comments from your team leader.

Be reasonable, they need someone who is reliable and as you are pregnant, I am guessing they have younger and cheaper staff willing to do extra hours. Why ask for extra hours then immediately tell them what you can't do - it seems a little demanding.

They're not looking for someone to work extra hours on checkouts, they're looking for the extra hours on your dept. If working your dept makes you dizzy (is it bakery? Too hot?), then you can't reasonably expect them to offer you the extra hours.
Your manager's first remark was rather brusque but I can't see anything discriminatory.

I imagine he was a bit taken aback by you asking to increase your hours and then saying you can't do what I imagine is a fairly large proportion of your normal tasks because you're not feeling up to it.

You need to do this properly. If you are unwell, go to your doctor and he/she will be able to advise you whether you are only fit for checkout duties, or whatever else, and will provide you with a fit note accordingly. Just saying while you are actually at work that you only feel up to doing one aspect of your job and expecting your manager to rearrange everything round you there and then is likely to result in a bit of huffing and puffing.

Have you had a risk assessment? If not, ask for one. Similarly to the doctors fit note, if there are aspects of your job that present a health and safety risk, the risk assessment will identify those and will give a proper basis for adjustments to be made, rather than you just saying so.

No risk assessment had been done as my manager said he didn't need to do one untill he had my matb1 form, or whatever it is. They know about me fainting previously and I have told them. I have worked in previous jobs with other pregnant women and I know the common thoughts on what people think when you say it's a pregnant related problem, which is mostly people think you are trying to skive or just being lazy. With my other two pregnancies I had a different job where I could sit down whenever I wanted and wasn't at the same pace my job in now, I didn't have problems with fainting at work, and I didn't have any time off related to pregnancy illness.

I've been asking for more hours for a long time, even before I wash pregnant and they have always said yes. Because me feeling unwell is due to pregnancy and not just because I'm ill, as I am a very reliable worker when I'm not pregnant.

I've realised perhaps I have been being a little over emotional about it all and probably taken it more personally than I needed to. I think mostly I'm frustrated with how am I feeling, I desperately need to do more hours as we really need the money at the moment. I have been feeling unable to do overtime lately as I have been so exhausted and even the days I do now have been an incredible struggle. It's pay day Friday and I know it's going to be a rubbish pay since I've done no overtime.
I'm also frustrated as my employer said they would put me forward to be a team leader and I know they won't do it now that I'm Pregnant. So far this has been my hardest pregnancy yet. We re struggling by on a stupidly low amount on money since I decided to change jobs as I was earning a lot better last year. And since I earnt a lot more last year, this year tax credits have dropped my tax credits to next to nothing. So my income has halved and so have my tax credits.we are expecting another baby when I am barely managing to feed us now.
Along with all this worry I can't even work any more at my current job as I basically can't handle it due to my pregnancy. I'm kicking myself I left my past job. Even though I was miserable and never had any time with my kids. I feel so stuck that I can't work anymore yet I need the hours and it's due to pregnancy. What am I supposed to do?!

You are in a very stressful situation and this is contributing to your frustration. You have to realise that asking for extra hours in your job when you admit yourself that you can't even manage the basic hours at the moment is irresponsible and unlikely to be approved. If your partner works at the same place, can't he do extra hours instead to increase your income?

It's the same situation with becoming a team leader. Your pregnancy may unfortunately have something to do with the company not progressing that but if you have only been there 6 months and are struggling to do your current job well, they have no incentive to promote you, pregnancy or not. You need to take care of your own health at the moment and trying to fulfil a more demanding role is probably not the way to go. If you don't get sick pay (as you seem to suggest in your first post) the increased likelihood of going off sick in a more demanding job is going to leave you worse off than continuing in your current role with some reasonable adjustments.

"I have been feeling unable to do overtime lately as I have been so exhausted and even the days I do now have been an incredible struggle."

Perhaps this is why your manager is reluctant to increase your hours?

If you don't feel well enough to work in your department and are struggling to manage your normal hours, surely extra hours isn't realistic at the moment? That's not discrimination, that's a physical reality by the sounds of things.

You should have a risk assessment as soon as your manager has been notified of your pregnancy. You don't need a MATB1. So get that sorted, and talk to your doctor about what work you are realistically fit for at the moment.

Yes I am currently struggling but this is only due to my pregnancy, I'm
Not bloody super women! If you need your pregnancy rights www.gov.uk/working-when-pregnant-your-rights they are not allowed to discriminate against you or not offer you a promotion because you are pregnant. I should have to same opportunities as everyone else shouldn't i?! It wasn't my manager not offering me addiction hours it was just my team leader threatening me that I wouldn't get extra hours if I didn't go back onto my own department that day - he wouldn't actually have any day on weather I got extra hours or not. I understand it's a business. But there are laws to protect pregnant workers as far as I'm aware.
I will speak to my manager today he has been really good with me so far. I was mostly angry by the way I was spoken to by this arrogant team leader. Maybe I didn't describe it very well. But as I said he has no say in what I do at work or if I get offered extra hours.

Yes you should have the same opportunities for promotion as anyone else, and no one has said otherwise. But you have no evidence they are going to deny you access to promotion opportunities, or at least haven't mentioned any.

The fact that your pregnancy is the reason you are struggling to complete your usual hours doesn't make any difference. If you're not physically capable of more hours then you're not, simple as that!

If this team leader has no say in anything why are you saying you are being refused extra hours?

Get your risk assessment done so that if your job needs adjusting it can be. See your doctor if you are not well enough to do your hours or do some of your duties and get a fit note. Then take it from there. There's no point worrying about being denied extra hours by someone who has no power to do so, but there's even less point worrying about it in a situation where it sounds like you are not physically capable of doing extra hours anyway.

It would have been helpful if you had made clear in your opening post that the person who said you wouldn't get extra hours actually has no say in the matter anyway! So the situation actually is that the person/people who make these decisions probably don't even yet know that you want extra hours?

It doesn't however remove the fact that if you can't fulfil your duties at the moment in your current role, you are in no position to take on extra hours - only to not be able to work them as well?

Ok, update.

So spoke to my manager told him how I was spoken to, he agreed this was wrong, I also informed him he had to do me a risk assessment, after a bit of arguing with him he check with hr and agreed he needed to. So I had that done and have been offered extra rest breaks and my midwife said I needed to eat and drink more regularly so I get a break every 2 hours. My manager later tried to also tell me I wouldn't get more hours because I was pregnant, to which I seriously kicked off about. Just out on principal as I know they can't refuse me this because I'm pregnant. He then backed off a bit, as I think he realised he didn't know anything about it. Lots of other people on my department also want extra hours and haven't got any, so I'll keep quiet about asking for hours for a while. Now have issues regarding my maternity pay, as my manager has given me wrong information for the past 10 weeks, I've only found out since I realised he was wrong about the risk assessment. He has said he will find out as he seems pretty clueless. If not I'll be off to hr.