Wife having issues with small care company

fiisch

My wife has worked as Homecare Coordinator for a small company for just over 1 year. She has recently discovered she is pregnant (yay!) but is having issues at work which is putting her under stress and/or is disadvantaged by some of their processes.

1/. She has had to have an extra scan date due to complications - her manager verbally attacked her describing it as unnecessary (it was ordered by midwife due to pains) and reducing her to tears. When she tried to escalate it, they dismissed her as being "hormonal".

2/. The coordinators occasionally go out to assist with care runs. After they are pregnant, they are supposed to do a risk assessment. They have not done this and tried to force her into doing heavy runs - they don't do this to another pregnant worker, so could be viewed as discrimination.

3/. On call - they provide "on call" cover for phones out of hours. However, this on call is simply working from home full time (they are instructed to monitor computer tracker constantly), yet are only paid circa £5/hr. The typical calls they receive are non emergencies, and are near continuous for much of the shift (5pm - 8:30am, paid £35/hr), although 11pm - 6am is quiet. They then work a full day 8:30am - 5pm, having also worked the previous day..!

4/. They work 8.5 hr days but paid for 7.5 - they are not normally allowed a lunch break. If they need a break to run an errand, they are only allowed 30 mins.

5/. They have been deducting a pension contribution for one year, but have been retaining the money rather than paying it to a pension provider.

Are these valid complaints or an inevitable part of working for a smaller business (circa 60-70 employees)? What would you do in her position?

As she's pregnant, she can't look for another job, yet current working environment is really upsetting her and I'm fed up of hearing my wife in tears.

TIA.

ab1982

Sounds s**t mate. The only thing I'd say is that I'd try to keep it all as unlegal as possible and your Mrs be as open with them as possible, and work with the company for a resolution because like you say since being pregnant your Mrs needs them more than they need her right now.

Pick which battles are worth fighting, all the things you list are problems but some more than others, if she kicks up a fuss about them all then she will be ignored as a trouble maker and nothing will change.

She could try to get others to do it for her, for example have a coffee with the most vocal of her co-workers and wind them up about working an extra hour a day, then sit back and wait.

Either way congrats on the baby and try to only worry about whats important!

Jamiesmum

She has worked there for over a year so it's a little late to moan about the rates of pay, pension and hours just because she's now fallen pregnant.

Tell her to refuse to do the care calls until a risk assessment is done, it doesn't go off the weight of people though more the equipment she is expected to use. So she could still be on the heavier calls unless she can get a note from her midwife saying she's at risk.

On call is probably part of her job and contract. How does it work out to be £5 an hour? Do you base this over the 48 hours? It's usually a weekend bonus but it's expected of her and again, this can't suddenly stop now because she is pregnant.

She could totally get another job (in care) whilst pregnant if she has plans to stay in the company after her maternity leave (otherwise there is no point in training her up). Most companys don't mind.

Why isn't she allowed a lunch break when she works in the office?

If she is the coordinator then she should be using that to her advantage for when she is on call. If she does her job well enough there shouldn't be much reason for people to be constantly ringing. I mean sure they will ring with non emergencies because that is exactly what the phone is for. It should rotate through all office and senior staff so she shouldn't have too do it too often.

Guest101

I've worked in similar setting and it's awful but typical.


However some of these practices are unlawful and (like most of these companies, from my experience) there is a real risk of the company simply shutting up shop one day

Detroit

Your wife should seek advice from the maternity rights alliance. They have a helpline for specific enquiries, as well as a wealth of general information on rights when pregnant. Sorry don't have contact details to hand, but you can Google it.

dawyldthing

There's a lot of things people shouldn't ring up for and if it's tedious stuff ask if you can send a memo to the staff saying so. I know we had one once saying on call isn't for telling us you have run out of things for having a cup of tea - probably included as a lightweight message but it worked.

Id ask for the risk assessment to be done and the £5 an hour isn't right, but might be lucky getting it as I know our team leaders used to get the on all phone and weren't paid extra for it as they were salaried

fiisch

Thanks all for the advice.

Since I last posted, it has deteriorated further. I sent email copied below for reference to Directors and they were incredibly receptive, and took initial action on each point, so kudos to them for that. I suspect they were fearful of ramifications as I know they consulted with legal company before formulating a reply.

The problem is, the management below directors are not happy - suspect they feel undermined - and are still sniping/making her uncomfortable, to the point she is anxious and stressed before going to work. Some of the initial actions taken have then been undone by management/seem to be taking an inordinate amount of time to implement.

She was on call at the weekend - had to go out caring until 1am and then back up at 6am - because she went caring whilst on-call, they're deducting some of the on-call allowance but not paying her for caring! Go figure!

Is applying for another job at 3 months pregnant really an option? Should it be disclosed on the CV, or wait until interview stage? Realistically, how likely is she to get another job whilst pregnant?

fiisch

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Dear Laurel & Hardy,

I am grateful for the opportunity to work for XX Homecare and be part of a successful team. I have enjoyed working with a number of my colleagues, and feel I’ve been given a good opportunity to further develop my career in the healthcare industry.

However, I feel compelled to draw your attention to the fact that vindictive and bullying attitudes of a few have been adopted into everyday working culture. Certain working practices are unfair, discriminatory and/or are in contradiction of related legislation. I accept, and have been willing, to be flexible in order to suit the needs of a small business, however it is evident that illegal working practices are now considered by management as expectation rather than exception.

I have listed my concerns below:

1. Personal Attack by XX 25/07/2016

I have recently confirmed that I am pregnant, and subsequently informed management so as to minimise any ensuing disruption. I was granted time off for an ante-natal appointment.

However, I was reduced to tears this afternoon after an exchange with XX, where I was accused of being “hormonal” and for taking excessive time off for “unnecessary scans”. The aggressive and accusatory tone used has no place in the working environment, and amounts to direct discrimination. I was made to feel different because of my pregnancy, during what I am sure you can appreciate is already a stressful period. The fact that my reaction was then belittled as being as a result of hormonal changes is demonstrative of the pervading bullying culture that has sadly emerged at XX.

The additional scan in question follows a potential for complications, and was ordered by the midwife. I am, of course, happy to provide full and complete documentation evidencing appointments throughout the pregnancy.

These attitudes from a manager are unacceptable and sets a dangerous precedent if left unchecked.

2. Example of Blatant Discrimination

Last week, after I had announced I was pregnant, I was repeatedly instructed to provide cover for a “double-up run” with other staff members who are not fully competent (still in training) or able (also pregnant). Due to the heavy load of the run, it was unsuitable that I partner another pregnant carer or individual still in training, yet I felt I was being bullied into putting myself at risk. Had the prerequisite risk assessment been performed, this situation would not have arisen - please note, at the time of writing this has still not been done.

Being asked to perform a heavy load such as this is in direct contradiction with the workload of other carers in a similar position, and as such I consider this as direct discrimination.

3. On-Call Procedure

The “on-call” shift is a clear perversion of the phrase “on-call”. Rather than operate an emergency “on-call”, out-of-hours service, these shifts involve working full-time, often until beyond 10pm at night, with a variety of non-emergency calls, including but not restricted to:
Casual client enquiries
Customer complaints
Carers running a few minutes late
Other administrative calls which could be dealt with during working hours
Constant monitoring of carers (“matching up”) which constitutes to full-time working until the carers have finished (11pm or later)

I’d respectfully suggest a simple IVR reiterating that the call is for emergencies only may negate some of this contact, however the current process means that the individual is working full-time until late at night. Their sleep is then invariably interrupted, followed by calls restarting by 6:30am the following day, which is then followed by a full day of work (8:30am – 5pm).

This means that not only is the individual not receiving the prerequisite amount of rest required before resuming work (indeed, there is an argument to say they are working continually for 36 hours), and that they are providing full-time cover for the phones between 5:00pm – 10pm and 6:30am – 8:30am. This amounts to at least 7 hours working, which is paid at a flat rate of £35, or £5 per hour, if we ignore the phone cover provided during the night.

This is a clear abuse of the interpretation of “on-call”, and I am concerned that these shifts leave me insufficiently rested and that, during these shifts, I am working for significantly below minimum wage.

Please note that I raised this some months previously in an appraisal, and was told the issue would be raised directly with <third party legal company> and their response fed back. This has not happened.

4. Lunch Breaks

Lunch breaks are frowned upon in the office, and any staff member daring to take their 30 minutes to leave the office is confronted and questioned. Staff members are expected to sit at their desks in front of a computer screen for a full 8.5 hours.

Interestingly, any lunch break we do negotiate after confrontation is for 30 minutes, yet our annual leave pays us for 7.5 hours, therefore by my reckoning we are entitled to an hours lunchbreak (or equivalent breaks).

5. Pension

Due to an error with payroll, I was not enrolled in the pension scheme when I joined. I am concerned with the length of time this has taken to be resolved (at the time of writing, I’ve yet to receive any outstanding monies) and that I have been disadvantaged by XX's error. Had I enrolled in the pension retrospectively, I would have lost out on any accrual of interest over the respective period, and have therefore been denied the opportunity of paying into a pension up until this point, despite Britannia deducting the equivalent amount from my salary each month.


I am deeply regretful that I have felt the need to contact you both directly, however the current environment has left me stressed, nervous to come to work and deeply upset. These are not emotions that anyone should feel in the working environment, not least when they are pregnant.

I would ask that you provide a full written response, either by return of email or letter, responding to each of my five points, and confirming what action is to be taken. I am hopeful that we may resolve these issues amicably without the need of third party mediation.

I look forward to your response with interest.

Kind regards,

XX

ab1982

I suppose put yourself in the Directors shoes, the letter you wrote (whilst very good btw) is confrontational and theatening. If I were them now I’d be covering my a** legally and managing the employee out.

sangie595

ab1982 wrote: »

I suppose put yourself in the Directors shoes, the letter you wrote (whilst very good btw) is confrontational and theatening. If I were them now I’d be covering my a** legally and managing the employee out.

I agree. Since this is a small company I very much doubt that the Directors were unaware of company practices; and they certainly wouldn't be now. So I would assume that anything and everything, including delays, is being done with the full knowledge of the people in charge. Whatever you now decide to do, proceed with caution - they are forewarned. So they will be very careful to (just) comply with the law, but you should view her future there as non-existent.

So I think you have answered your own question - applying for other jobs is definitely and option, because it would be only sensible. After that, the rest is irrelevant, because she must do it. But yes, there are employers who will ignore the fact that she is pregnant and recruit on the basis of the best person for the job. Just not as many of them as there should be. If possible, she should be looking towards the public sector if at all possible (although that is hard to get into now) because they are the employers least likely to consider her pregnancy.

You do not have to disclose pregnancy at application or interview stage unless directly asked (because you shouldn't lie).

Alternatively, if she can bare another few months at work, the obvious option would be to stick her head down, smile sweetly, go with the flow and let everything wash over her head, then resign instead of returning to work. That is not at all uncommon, and if she still wishes to work afterwards, she can simply apply for new jobs after the birth, or take a few weeks off and then explain to new employers that having tried fulltime motherhood, it is doing her head in and she needs to work! Most women will totally get that, and most men won't ask any further.

dawyldthing

fiisch wrote: »

Thanks all for the advice.

Since I last posted, it has deteriorated further. I sent email copied below for reference to Directors and they were incredibly receptive, and took initial action on each point, so kudos to them for that. I suspect they were fearful of ramifications as I know they consulted with legal company before formulating a reply.

The problem is, the management below directors are not happy - suspect they feel undermined - and are still sniping/making her uncomfortable, to the point she is anxious and stressed before going to work. Some of the initial actions taken have then been undone by management/seem to be taking an inordinate amount of time to implement.

She was on call at the weekend - had to go out caring until 1am and then back up at 6am - because she went caring whilst on-call, they're deducting some of the on-call allowance but not paying her for caring! Go figure!

Is applying for another job at 3 months pregnant really an option? Should it be disclosed on the CV, or wait until interview stage? Realistically, how likely is she to get another job whilst pregnant?

No I wouldn't change jobs now as she might as well get full maternity pay. Could she go on maternity after 6 months (ive never been pregnant but seen friends go on maternity and it seems to be any time) as then she could just bind her time for the next few months?