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I feel like my boss thinks my pregnancy is an inconvenience

6 replies

Sarah2394 · 03/01/2019 21:40

I work as a healthcare assistant. I am 25 weeks pregnant and from the start my pregnancy has been anything but easy.
I suffer with hyperemisis and have had random bleeds through out my pregnancy so far. All of this results in a lot of hospital visits and being there for hours.
Due to what my job equires me to do on a daily basis I had to tell my boss right away I was pregnant. But since then she’s been acting as if my pregnancy is an inconvenience. Such as asking me to reschedule midwife appointments because there isn’t enough staff to cover my absence. when I say no she gets very rude towards me.
She also hasn’t lightened my work load even though a pregnancy risk assessment is in place. And despite my best efforts at trying to explain to her that I’m struggling greatly she just doesn’t seem to care. I don’t think I can cope anymore but I don’t want to cause a massive thing about it

OP posts:
daisychain01 · 04/01/2019 07:11

Such as asking me to reschedule midwife appointments because there isn’t enough staff to cover my absence. when I say no she gets very rude towards me

On this, I'd say try to meet your manager half-way and recognise she is having to balance work between members of her team. If she can't get cover because she has too few people it does give her a problem, so if you can be flexible and are able to rearrange any routine appointments so they align with team coverage I'm sure you'll find her a lot more pleasant. It's no excuse for her to be rude to you, of course, but maybe it explains her behaviour.

She also hasn’t lightened my work load even though a pregnancy risk assessment is in place. And despite my best efforts at trying to explain to her that I’m struggling greatly she just doesn’t seem to care. I don’t think I can cope anymore but I don’t want to cause a massive thing about it

If it's a problem to you, it isn't about 'causing a massive thing' it's about highlighting to your manager that your workload is a problem (which you've already done). Unfortunately just saying that isn't enough, especially if you're already short staffed. The work still has to get done, it won't go away. You mention there is a risk assessment in place, what exactly did the risk assessment say that you may be able to discuss with your manager to back up the fact your current workload is too much? Can you identify any specific tasks that could be reallocated to reduce your workload as your pg advances? Again, I think you need to try to help yourself on this one, suggest a solution not a problem.

It sounds like it's a case of "manage your manager" rather than simply her seeing your pg as an inconvenience.

Sarah2394 · 04/01/2019 09:27

I do understand that she’s a manager and she does have to balance work between her staff. And I normally do try and book my appointments for days I’m not working. But my midwife is a community midwife which means she runs the antenatal clinic on certain days each month. So in this instance i couldn’t help that it fell on a working day.
The risk assessment in place states I’m not to do heavy lifting of certain patients I look after. Yet I am still doing that. And when I brought it to her attention this was happening and asked for lighter work or desk duties until I’m no longer pregnant. She said there are no lighter duties. So I asked about paid leave or starting my maternity leave now. And she declined to paid leave and said I could start my maternity leave now but won’t get paid yet as my maternity pay forms have been processed fully yet. So I can’t not just have an income.
The risk assessment said I could discuss my workload if finding it to hard as it’s all manual so there’s a lot of lifting of people and using machines to aid with mobility. Also said I could discuss my hours as I work 12 hour days which I don’t feel the need to do just now

OP posts:
daisychain01 · 04/01/2019 12:39

If your manager is ignoring your RA recommendations and doing nothing to mitigate the risks of you lifting patients, and having to cope with a heavy workload, then you need to get your HR people involved as a reminder that, in law, your employer must take your needs seriously and take reasonable steps to protect your and your baby's welfare during work time.

Do you have an HR or Occ Health dept you can take your concerns to. Are you in a union?

daisychain01 · 04/01/2019 12:41

Perhaps the expedient thing is to find out how quickly the mat pay forms can be processed. Did she give any estimate of the timescales for that?

daisychain01 · 04/01/2019 12:44

12 hour days - that's definitely too much! If they are short staffed, then they have to deal with that so you aren't overburdened.

The other thing to mention is to keep a record of all conversations and meetings you've had, what was discussed, what issues you raised, and the dates/ times of the meetings. This is important to build a picture about your situation,

ItsvickyX · 29/05/2019 10:29

Hi everyone, I’m new here.. just having a few problems at work, I told my employer I was pregnant nearly 6 weeks ago, she keeps putting off my pregnancy risk assessment, even though she’s discussing it with other members of staff, another member of management makes me feel like a total inconvenience at work.. I work in retail in a clothes shop, so this means I can’t drag delivery down 3 flights of stairs or carry tills down in the morning and up at night.. am I being too sensitive? Xxx

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