Can a pregnant women be expected to show up at the office first?

[Strix]

This is not someone at my work, but I wanted to post here and see what the collective wisdom of MN thinks. The woman in question is in obviously pregnant. She has raised a concern that she does not want to be the only one at the office for health and safety reasons. Can she do this? Or is she bound to show up in her contracted hours, even if no one else is there, while she is pregnant.

If it was me, and I was pregnant, this would not bother me. There is nothing dangerous about this office. It's not in a dangerous neighborhood.

But, perhaps she does have a legal right to not come in when no one else is there?

Has she had a H&S assessment? I think you need to get external advice on this one.

Why wouldn't she be able to be there alone? Is there anything inherently more dangerous about your office than a home for instance? Does she never spend any time alone at home? Seems a bit precious to me but others may disagree.

why shouldn't she?

Pregnancy is not an illness or a disability.

An employer must ensure the health and safety of pregnany staff and their unborn children - that's a legal obligation.

So they must risk assess the role to ensure it is safe - things they should look at include working hours, lifting etc.

So Effie is right, they need to ensure this lady's being alone at work is not a H&S risk in any way.

It wouldn't have bothered me when pregnant, but there were no health and safety issues.

She works at a desk. She does not lift anything. There are no chemicals. No manual labor. No know pregnancy complications. This is her second pregnancy. She did have a H&S assessment, during which time she requested a new wrist rest and documents holder (no one can work out what a document holder has to do with being pregnant).

Again, this is not at my work. I have just posed the question for someone else.

Sorry, should have clarified that she not raise this point in the H&S assessment. But has raised it since.

I've been asked if I wanted someone assigned to escort me out of the building in case of a fire (I said no)- maybe she feels the need to have something like this.

Seems a bit OTT to me

No idea on legal rights but in terms of good practice I imagine it would depend how close she is working up to her due date, how long she will be alone, and how far the office is from other people should she need assistance.

FWIW plenty of place I have worked it was policy to not have anyone working alone EVER.

Strix, do you know what it is about working alone that she feels may be compromising her H&S?

Why would this be a problem? Is she not alone at home sometimes?

Presumably she is near a telephone if she happened to go into labour?

What? My work were breaking h&s guidelines on a daily basis during my pg if this is the case. I can't see what harm would befall her sitting at a desk which presumably has a phone on it should anything happen.

It sounds like she is using her pregnancy as an excuse. Does she not like being alone in the office?

But like others have said - she's pregnant, not ill! If she had had problems and her pregnancy was high risk, that would be different - but then she'd probably be signed off work, wouldn't she?

Is she scared of going into labour? Cos I'm assuming her office has a phone, right?

WTF?
I was course director at a university and worked up to 8mths, I was always the first in as I wanted to be organised, set a good example etc. (but maybe that's me)

She sounds like she's trying to swing it to me.

The only h&S risk I can think of is if by remote chance she were to fall there would be no one there to help her.

Personally, I would give her a moblie phone case to clip on her belt so she could always call for help.

unless there is a specific medical reason to do with her pregnancy, then i think she's being a bit lame tbh.

She may be prone to fainting.

Wrist rest and document holder are fair enough actually - I had them recommended at my H&S assessment because RSI & carpal tunnel syndrome, which you can be prone to in pregnancy anyway, are exacerbated by poor posture at the computer. The aids can help correct your position.

But I can't see what the problem is about being first in.

How pregnant is she? I would think the only concern might be that she go into labour if she is very pregnant.

.

I worked in a dental surgery that closed at 2pm twice a week. All the staff, except me, left at that time.

I was fine, didn't even think about it being a problem. I was only doing office duties tho.

And in the mornings I was always first in, as dh would drop me off at 7.30 before he started work (mine started at 8.30)

She's not prone to fainting. I say this with confidence because if she was she would no doubt have made that fact known.

There are a whole lot more hazards in a dental surgery that there are at this woman's office.

I had a risk assessment at work when I told them I was pregnant. One of the things in the assessment was not being in the building alone (if I got in first I would have to wait for somebody else to turn up before going into my department) in case I fainted or something.

The company I work for are just very cautious and did not wish to be sued if anything should happen to a pregnant employee on their premesies.

So you went to work at the normal time, and if no one was there yet, you waited in your car?