Travelling when pregnant - Advice please kind people.

Judi101

Hi, can anyone give me some advice? I am just 6 weeks pregnant with my second child.

I do alot of driving for work - 1 hour each way for a 930-4pm day is a good day travelling, its usually closer to 2 or 3 hours each way. I havent told my boss that I am pregnant yet but am going to in two weeks time. Anyway when I tell him I want to cut down the travelling to say 30/40 minutes to work but this probably means I cant do most of my job. The reasons for this are that

1- I am feeling shattered. I wasnt this tired this early on with my first and I dont feel safe driving all that way and then doing a full days work.

2- I was run off the road in October by an HGV on my way home from work (a 3 hour drive home). I was fine but if I had been pregnant I think I might have stood a good chance of losing the baby. I know it can happen any where but I just dont want to risk it more than I have too.


The thing is I didnt ask for this with my first and my line manager was different then too. My current manager is a bit of a ***** and will go balistic when I tell him I am pregnant. If he can get away with sacking me because of it he will. I currently work part time (not agreed to by him) and he hates it. He is currently bringing alot of pressure to convince me to leave. I will but on my time frame not his, I want to stay until the end of October.

So after all of that I need some advice as to the legal situation of me making such a request. Do I have a leg to stand on? Can he say no? How do I stand asking this so soon into my pregnancy?

Are there any other reasons I am not aware of for reducing the amount of time driving? I did ask a doctor and he said there was no medical reason to restrict the amount of time behind the wheel when pregnant.

chergar

Firstly congratulations on your pregnancy.

This link has many q&A's that you should find useful.
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/work/maternityrights/#9

Also remember you cannot be sacked for being pregnant or having a pregnancy related illness.

Good luck with your pregnancy and keep us updated on how you get on.

Justie

congratulations!

firstly he cannot sack you for being pregnant and if he forces you to leave you'd have a good case for constructive dismissal and would more than likely win if the case went to arbitration. If you're part of a union then get in touch with them to check your rights and if you're not see if you can join one - it may well be worth your while. Keep a log of any incidents when they happen (including notes of who witnessed conversations or copies of emails etc) so that if you have to take it further you have evidence.

You don't have to inform your employer until much further into your pregnancy but it's not a bad idea to tell them so you can sort out things like this.

On the driving front - If you already don't feel safe driving then it's likely to get worse - I'm 21 wks pg and don't trust myself in the car for anything but the simplest of journeys as I'm very tired and my brain just isn't as quick so my reactions are slow, never mind that the bump will get in the way. HR or your union should be able to advise you on how you could do your job whilst pregnant but the general rule is that you should do a risk assessment and make sure that what you do won't harm you or the baby and your work should offer you 'safe' work to do for the time being - it's a bit unclear whether your travelling is as part of your commute or actually part of your job so I'm not sure how that will come into it.

crispeater

in my job i have to travel over an hour each way to and from work. there was no way what so ever they would reduce my travel time even though there was a place i could of worked 20 minutes away.

they cant sack you just coz your pregnant either that would be a straight route straight to a tribunal.

goodluck and congratulations

Welshlassie

Congratulations on you news.
I was in a similar position travelling 2 and half hours each way to the office 2 days a week. As you are now pregnant you should be having a health and safety check, this should include things like driving etc. They then have to make reasonable allowances for your "condition". Have a word with your HR people. Also consider talking to CAB if you are having problems with your manager. They can't sack you or force you to leave because you are pregnant - that is discrimination and you can take them to tribunal.
Good luck

Becles

I've been driving during pregnancy and I've been fine. It varies from day to day due to the nature of my job. On an easy day it's probably 1-2 hours, on the heaviest it's been 7 hours. I was tired after the long journeys, but felt perfectly safe in the car following the usual rules - regular breaks, have drinks etc.

Judi101

thanks for all the help guys. I plan to have the conversation with him and ask him to reduce my travelling as with Justie I just dont feel safe driving being so shattered. Will keep you posted how it goes.

MJMum

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liney

I am confused. Surely it takes as long as it takes to get to work. How can your employer reduce this?

Also, if the driving is part of your job, not travelling too and fro, but the doctor says you have no medical reason not to drive, then why would they agree? As an employer i wouldn't. You are working part time already though, so reducing your hours further might be an option?

I dont mean to sound unsympathetic, and i have had a baby, but i just wouldn't get your hopes up too much. Pregnancy isnt an illness ! /duck.

coolio_2

Is the travelling because of the distance you live from work? Or is the travelling part of your job?

Eels100

I agree entirely with the comments about your boss not being able to sack/discriminate against you.

I'm almost 26 weeks pregnant and my job involves long hours (easily 12-14 hours some days), lots of driving (several hundred miles most weeks) and callouts 24/7. I do work extremely hard, and I did find the first trimester particularly difficult as I was so tired. But I did not want myself to be a risk on the road so I used my own time to look after myself well, by eating properly and getting extra sleep, bed by 8pm some nights.

Into the second trimester I was SO glad I'd kept active and maintained my normal working life because I soon felt much better and have been able to work (and earn) the normal amount without any adjustments. My boss has been sympathetic because he knows I have shown committment and now I think he's quietly taking it easy on me. I am sure if I'd done less in the first trimester I wouldn't be as fit as I am now and wouldn't have found the whole pregnancy as easy. As it is I have had mild back pain occasionally which hasn't needed any treatment, and other than needing extra sleep and fluids I feel great. Approaching the third trimester I feel that I have a really good chance of being able to work well up to my due date.

It isn't an illness and it isn't a disability. Of course we need to be sensible but there's no reason why, with a bit of common sense and planning, you can't continue as normal. Do see your doctor if you feel like there's a genuine risk to you and other road users, but in terms of car accidents etc at this stage your womb is still within your pelvis, so unless you have an accident which threatens your own life your baby will be fine. I don't know many people who won't get in a car while pregnant, the risks really aren't high.

I can promise you if you can hang on and do your best you will feel much better for it later in the pregnancy.