Employee Pregnancy Booklet

Transcription

1 Employee Pregnancy Booklet A Guide for the Expectant Mother

2 Pregnancy Information Expectant mothers are a normal part of any workforce and many women wish to work for as long as they can before their baby is born. This enables them to keep their maternity leave entitlement to spend with their baby before returning to work. Newcastle University adheres to the guidelines issued for expectant mothers at work and will endeavour to provide a safe environment in which you can continue to work, providing that you remain well and have the approval of your midwife. This booklet has been compiled by Occupational Health in conjunction with Human Resources as a guide for the expectant employee. It is intended to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of you and your unborn child while you are continuing at work at the University. Occupational Health Services are available if you have any work related pregnancy concerns. They will be happy to discuss these with you and can be contacted on occupationalhealth@ncl.ac.uk Tel : Confidential Information If you are considering becoming pregnant and/or attempting to conceive it is recommended you contact Occupational Health in confidence for advice on workplace hazards and guidance on any actions required. When you become pregnant, it is important that three departments are made aware of this. These are Occupational Health, Human Resources and your own department. You will be asked to give your consent to the other departments being informed of your pregnancy or requested to do so yourself. Your manager will need to be aware of your condition and, if you are working with any identified hazards, s/he in turn will have to inform your line manager. However, the details of your pregnancy will be treated as strictly confidential by all three departments until you yourself are ready to inform your colleagues. As a university we have a duty of care to you as a pregnant employee; however we may not be able to fulfil that duty unless the management of your work area is made aware of your condition. This will enable them to assess your work place and, if necessary, move you to a less strenuous or safer area until after you have had your baby. It is important to stress that

3 this cannot be done unless they have been informed. The HR Department has to keep details of all pregnant employees on campus and is there to help and guide you with your legal requirements during your pregnancy. HR and Occupational Health work in conjunction with each other, as well as with your manager to ensure that your working conditions and pregnancy entitlements are complied with. Antenatal Care All pregnant employees have the right to keep ante-natal appointments made on the advice of their doctor or the midwife in charge of their medical care, and you should not be unreasonably refused time off work to attend these. However, you will need to show your manager an appointment card or some other document showing that an appointment has been made. You should return to work once the appointment is completed. If any issues arise from your antenatal care that have implications for your work at the university, you should discuss these with your manager in the first instance. S/he may refer you to Occupational Health, if appropriate, for further advice or guidance.

4 Work capabilities during pregnancy In all cases Occupational Health will carry out a generic pregnancy risk assessment of the chemical, physical and biological hazards and if necessary make specific requirements. In General 1. You should not be exposed to toxic chemicals or other harmful agents. 2. You should not be working with potent carcinogens, cytotoxic and anti neoplastic agents (anti cancer drugs) except under conditions of high containment 3. If you are an agricultural worker you should not be working with calving cows, farrowing sows or lambing ewes and not handle cat faeces. 4. You should not be working with class 3 pathogenic bacteria, protozoa or viruses except under conditions of high containment 5. You should not be working with unsealed sources of ionizing radiation and only with sealed sources of ionizing radiation up to 13.mSV in any 3 months/10.msvduring the declared term of pregnancy. 6. You should not attempt any heavy or strenuous work. 7. You should not attempt any lifting above 10 kg or repeated strenuous lifting above 5kg. 8. You should avoid sitting with an uncomfortable posture for prolonged periods. 9. You should not be working at extremes of temperature (normal comfort zone deg C), lighting and noise. 10. Adequate toilet and rest facilities such as a rest room equipped with a comfortable chair and provision for privacy and quiet should be provided. Other procedures may be permitted following a specific risk assessment undertaken by the manager with the assistance of Occupational Health where required.

5 Your Specific Risk Assessment For many jobs a specific risk assessment will not be required. If however you are working with chemicals, biological agents or other harmful agents a specific risk assessment will be carried out and you will be given detailed information on the control measures necessary to protect you and your unborn child. Visual Display Equipment Every employee who works with VDUs (visual display units) should have completed the self assessment training programme on the Safety intranet site Training on Working with Display Screen Equipment. If you have not had this training, or would like further help and advice on using your workstation during pregnancy, please contact Occupational health on ext Overtime Reasonable amounts of overtime pose no problem provided there are no problems with either you or your pregnancy. Occupational Health Services should be informed on each occasion that: a) Overtime is to be worked that exceeds 8 hours weekly. b) Any overtime is to be worked after the 28 th week of pregnancy. Guidelines to the Do s and Don ts in Laboratories 1. Always follow safe laboratory practice. 2. Always read the Hazard Sheet or Safety Data Sheet on materials before you handle them. If you do not understand ask your laboratory manager. 3. Always wear protective clothing. 4. If contamination occurs, obtain advice on how it should be handled.

6 And finally The legislation that governs maternity leave entitlements is extensive and is regularly changed. However HR will have all the up-to-date legislation available and will be pleased to discuss this with you. Details of the University s provisions are available on the HR website, or from your HR Officer Your midwife is there to advise you on health matters and you should discuss any pregnancy related concerns with her.. If you have any work related concerns, or are having problems coping with your pregnancy at work, you should discuss this in the first instance with your manager. He/she will refer you to Occupational Health if appropriate for further advice/guidance. If however, you health concern is of a confidential nature you can contact Occupational Health directly for advice, Tel