33 weeks pregnant - broken lift and lots of stairs!

[MissingMyHeels]

I also have a trapped nerve in my back/bum and am on crutched. Do my employer have to provide me with step free access?

It took me 15 mins and lots of pain to get into the office this morning and I don't want to have to do it again. Also, now I am in the office I am trapped and can't go out for lunch etc.

Sounds as though you shouldn't be at work at all missingmyheels... If you are in pain just coming in and trapped now you're there, I would have thought a doctor would be advising you to put your feet up.

My doctor did suggest resting but I have my mat cover starting on Monday and have SO much to do and don't actually feel ill in myself. Just stairs are massively problematic!

Have you spoken to anyone at work about this? Presumably they are getting the lift fixed, it just isn't yet? When you say do they have to provide step-free access what do you think they could do which they are not doing? Is a demand for step-free access actually a possibility? Could you work on the ground floor or whatever?

If I were your employer I would be sending you straight home. They obviously have to look after your H&S, this is not a safe situation for you, and unless and until the lift is fixed or some other safe arrangement is in place I don't think you should be there.

Having said that as an employer I would also expect you to stay at home if advised by a doctor, regardless of how much you have to do...

What Flowery said!

I can understand the desire to give a clean handover so won't lecture you about that. But if they're trying to get the lift fixed (I'm assuming it hasn't been like this weeks) there's not much they can do except move you to a hot desk on the ground floor...

The problem with looking at looking at what your employers have to provide you is that, legally, they should probably send you home and it doesn't sound like that's what you want...

We are in a serviced office so I can't work on the ground floor unfortunately we only have levels 3&4. I was hoping there might be some legislation that we as a business could use to hurry the fixing of the lift along as the engineer hasn't come out yet and it has been broken all week. I was using the service lift but this has now broken and the owner of the building is really dragging his heels in terms of getting stuff fixed!

I guess going home is probably my only realistic option. Thanks for your help ladies

If it's the building owner dragging his heels and you've got your boss on side then get out the contract regarding the office space. It may have service level requirements re speed of fixing things.

Also, no harm in your boss ranting that this delay is unreasonable and that, as a result, he is having to send a valued employee home because she can't do stairs. Might put the wind up the owner.