Pregnant in practice

RE: Pregnant in practice

Mark Hedberg — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 09:27:37 GMT

Congratulations on the happy news!

The tricky bit here isn't just that you're pregnant, it's that you're a student, and there are rules on keeping students safe in UK education due to H&S legislation. So it's not just HSE your employer is trying to comply with, but your training provider's rules on student safety. (Not only can your employer get in trouble if your baby is affected by radiation and anaesthesia fumes - your training provider has legal responsibilities for your safety as well.)

So it's worth having a chat with your college as well - open lines of communication are key here; it may be that someone's acting with the best of intentions. At the end of the day, there will be some things you can't do when pregnant in a vet practice.

Good luck!

Kind regards,
Mark

RE: Pregnant in practice

Sal the 1st — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 10:38:17 GMT

yes an employer can cut hours where there is no alternative work available to comply with Health and Safety but would still have to pay for those hours.

https://www.gov.uk/working-when-pregnant-your-rights.

This is an area that has interested me for some time. By being non discriminatory to pregnant members of staff employers often have to discriminate (unintentionally) against other staff members who are then treated less favourably just to get the job done. I still remember being a HN working with 4 other nurses with 2 on maternity leave and another due to start - with locum cover when we could get it - was a bloody nightmare.

I think some employers are damned if they do and damned if they don't these days - ie if they try to do everything possible to keep a pregnant staff member safe then yes there is the risk that staff member will feel that they are being restricted in what they can do (and you wouldn't be the first to mention it) but on the other hand there are those that as soon as they become pregnant will find any excuse possible not to do something. Finding a happy medium that keeps everybody happy and complies with H+S can be easier said than done.

RE: Pregnant in practice

fairy — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 08:16:31 GMT

I don't think they are legally allowed to cut your hours. I might be wrong, but, it just doesn't seem quite right to me.