flying while pregnant

[beverleymot]

my HR manager offered me ground duties as i cannot carry out my air hostess duties whilst pregnant. i got a letter from the doc saying he wasn't comfortable with me working at the airport. a risk assessment was then done on the airport which came back as safe. I was then told to go straight back to work by HR and i said as i didn't feel comfortable i would be willing to stay at home and not get paid as i read somewhere that you can do this and my job should stay open for me, but now she has emailed me a resignation letter and told me i have to resign. Surely this isn't right?

[bednobs]

i dont think any employer is duty bound to give you unpaid leave. If you are unable to carry out your duties, or alternative duties they have given you then i cant see why they shouls have to give you unpaid leave.
Out of interest, what would you be doing at the airport that your gp wouldn't wan't you doing?

[beverleymot]

not sure but tests have confirmed it can cause deafness in unborn babies- plus radiation, travelling 2 hrs a day to and from work- all adds up and my doc checked it all on the net before he wrote my note

[bednobs]

its your fault you live 2 hours away fromt he airport, not theirs, so this shouldn't form any basis of being unable to work. If people are exposed to radiation at the airport i find that really worrying! WHAT ABOUT GROUND STAFF WHO WORK THERE EVERYDAY OF THEIR WORKING LIFE?
Anyway, it sounds like your employers have made reasonable adjustments to your job for you, and you can garuntee they have been in this situation befoore even if you haven't, so why has this "unable to work as ground staff" never come up before i wonder?

[redcrx]

have there never been any pregnant ladies working there that you know of then?

You could take your maternity leave from 26 weeks I think, but before that you need to find a suitable job within the company or look at resigning if you dont think any position is safe there.

[beverleymot]

i never said i couldnt do ground duties i just said i never felt comfortable bednobs- and i never said i lived two hours form the airport- i said two hrs there and back which is allowed.

I never asked them to carry out a risk assessment- they did that themselves- and i find it concerning that they won't show me a copy of the assessment

[Cheekystar]

Def seek support Berverlymot, speak to the HR department further and get some support from the Citizens Advice. They shouldn't be treating you like this at all. Can your doctor sign you off work?

[bednobs]

its allowed for you to live any amount of time away from the airport, i never intended to imply it wasn't, just that its your lookout that you live a long way away, and it shopuldnt have any bearing on your ability to do your job

[beverleymot]

thanks cheekystar- i dont think my doc would sign me off again anyway as i am having a healthy pregnancy- i suppose i could talk to my midwife as she has been completely on my side throughout this hassle and she isn't happy about the situation either! HR are a complete waste of time! i think i should check out the citizens advice website too. it's so silly cos i will be starting maternity pay on 22nd feb!

[beverleymot]

no it wouldn't under normal circumstances bednobs- in my contract you must live within an hr of the airport for standby purposes so i was just stating that they couldn't use that against me x

[redcrx]

what are your concerns when you say that HR has done a risk assessment and stated it to be safe for you to work as ground crew?
You say you are having no problems with pregnancy, are you still at work?

[bednobs]

isn't it different if you are considering a ground staff role though?

[beverleymot]

hi it makes no difference at all

My employer is very clever you see and are reknowed for bein bad to work for and to be honest i don't believe what they are sayin ( ie: passed risk assessment) if they had nothing to hide they would send me a copy of the certificate. It's not just me they have been cever with- many people have been left in foreign countries to sleep on the streets because they wont pay for hotels for staff, or they have missed buses home because of delays and they wont help them. They lower prices for customers and can afford to because they take money off us for uniform, suitcase, training- it's a terrible company but the job is great putting all that aside!

[Psychick]

Can your midwife or doctor not demand a copy of the risk assessment from the company?

[redcrx]

i didnt think risk assessments carried a certificate.

so your concern is that you dont beleive its safe even though they say it is? Youre refusing to work, therefore who can blame them asking you to leave.

Do your own research and then go to Head office with your findings and prove to them its unsafe.

what ground crew job have they suggested you do? what would it involve? A job at a customer service desk is not going to involve anything damaging, ie radiation.

[redcrx]

heres a link on the risk of radiation from airport scanners http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/faqs/preg nancyandsecurityscreening.html

[beverleymot]

i would work if they can prove the test came back safe but they wont

[beverleymot]

ticket desk is done through an agency- it would be working on the actual runway in the crew room- although i am not 100% on that. Just gonna cut my losses and leave i think- too tired for it all!!

[redcrx]

what test exactly and how do you want them to prove it?

heres a list of what they have to look at, if they cannot offer you a suitable position then they have to suspend you but youre saying youve refused what theyve offered.

http://www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/tuc-9712-f0.cfm

[redcrx]

how can you refuse the position when youre not even sure about what the position involves.

Fight for it if you are in the right, dont just give up.

[beverleymot]

http://www.disabilityhelper.com/Causes-Disabil ity.htm