Pregnant + suspended for fainting!

foogirl1983

As mentioned in the OP, the woman she is caring for is not a child - she is a woman with learning disabilities who lives with her parents.

To the OP, as mentioned previously - congrats on your pregnancy!

Would you be able to sit down with the parents and discuss it like adults (I mean that on their part, not yours!) - I appreciate that they are concerned for their daughter's safety, but (again as mentioned before) you are under no obligation to inform them about your pregnancy until 15 weeks prior to due date.

As your doctor has given you a clean bill of health this shouldn't happen again assuming you avoid standing in hot places for too long!

adouglasmhor

If foogirl1983's sugestion does not work you may need to tell them you will be taking legal action against them.

floss2

Personally I think suspension while it is sorted out is the fairest option - however, I am not sure whether you can be suspended for 1 week then forced to take annual leave?

Take a look at these links for a bit more help & advice:

Direct.gov

NetMums

ACAS

The ACAS one in particularly interesting as it gives info about suspension, and a link to the BERR (formerly DTi) guidance.

Good luck & let us know how you get on.

floss2

francispybis wrote: »

...If you're liable to faint while looking after a child out of their own home, then it is probably unsafe...

Does that mean that when I fainted whilst pregnant with my second child, looking after my first child at a mums & tots group out of his own home, that it was unsafe & I should therefore have stayed at home for 9 months until I produced the baby?

francispybis wrote: »

... If you're on full pay you may have to just take early maternity leave...

But the OP is healthy & cannot take early mat.leave without a genuine medical reason!!

Savvy_Sue

floss2 wrote: »

Does that mean that when I fainted whilst pregnant with my second child, looking after my first child at a mums & tots group out of his own home, that it was unsafe & I should therefore have stayed at home for 9 months until I produced the baby?

Exactly. When it happened to me, I had driven to pick my husband up from the gym. I was tired and thirsty, didn't feel well in the queue, and next thing I knew I was on the floor. Should I have stayed home and never driven anywhere? Don't think so.

BTW, I never did get my cup of tea, and I'm sure if I'd had it I would have been fine! :rotfl:

mikey72

Feel free to remove where I have put child and replace with any term you would think suitable.
Dependent of the person who is being cared for, risk assessment, duty of care, etc will stand if the person could be at risk. I don't know what difficulties they have, it's not been specified, and for this post doesn't need to be.
If the doctor would guarantee the op would not faint again fair enough, if they are at more risk of fainting, the risk assessment will be worse.
An alternative has been offered, and again, if it's not suitable, fair enough.
Less hours and a system of checking every hour seems reasonable.
HSE's lone worker policy plays a part in this as well.
The op doesn't say how long she has been working for them, they could just decide they don't need any carer and dismiss her, or make her redundant.

shellsuit

Anyone can faint, anywhere, for a whole number of reasons.

A pregnant woman doesn't have to inform her employers of her pregnancy until 15 weeks before the due date (correct me if I'm wrong).

I wouldn't be happy at all with what's happened ~ and I'd take it all the way!

Good luck, please let us know how you get on x

jdturk

i think the point is that pregnant woman are more likely to faint than people who aren't and I don't think they have done anything wrong in suspending the OP and assessing the potential risk to the person the OP is looking after

mikey72

This is a no win situtation for everyone.
The op, either loses her job or the hours.
The parents, either they have to pay her and the risk to their daughter is increased, they pay her while suspended, and then the daughter cannot go out.
The daughter, she either stays in, or faces being out with a carer who may faint, or be taken to hospital.

mikey72

adouglasmhor wrote: »

It is not a child. 1st post makes this clear.

She's not an "it" either.