hey there girls,
I am just wondering does anybody have access to, or know where I can find the HSE protecting pregnancy at work policy? I have checked the hse website and cant seem to find it. I am a HSE employee and am having a bit of bother in work and would really like to see the policy before I go back in on monday. thanks!!!

Do you mean sick leave policy, I am a hse worker in a hosp and that hosp have a policy which I assume have to follow hse guidelines , if you are sick in my job its called psk and cannot be questioned once you have a cert and it can't go on permanent record also if your area of work is unsuitable or unsafe you can take health and safety leave which is a type of social welfare, I'm not sure if this is the type of info your looking for!! Your place of employment will have a pregnancy policy and ours is in a folder where all staff have access 2

Hey Jewllb, thanks for the reply, I am working in a specific area of the hse that has it's own pregnancy policy but it should also comply with general HSE policy. The job I work in has a lot of hazards and a lot of manual handling, my employers are supposed to move me to a suitable alternative job within the hse, but are trying to move me to a job that still has some hazards and has a LOT of manual handling. The alternate job is in my opinion worse in some ways than my own and I was hoping that the hse policy might be better written or have something in it that will help me. my managers say that the risks are mitigated in the new job but I know for a fact that a previous risk assessment of a similar less physical job deemed it unsafe. My collegues are all in shock and I have talked to people who do the proposed job and they say it is heavier work than my current job (which involves a lot of heavy lifting) so I don't know what to do. I am not willing to risk myself or my baby and I know I am not currently capable of the new job......I have asked for a referral to occ health but was hoping to check out all the relevant paperwork too

I know what you're talking about. I never had to use it myself, but there is something in the law alright that protects pregnant women - it's called something along the lines of 'pregnancy risk assessment'. I only know about it because my husband had a routine health&safety course in work a while back and they mentioned it there. Firstly, to my knowledge, HR is obliged by law to provide you information on it (it is not restricted to HSE or even public sector). I'll wait till he comes home from work and see if I can get more details for you.

ETA - Just spoke to him, he said that your employer is legally obligated to give you an official risk assessment. It's forms you will have to fill and sign, so it becomes an official document in your file. If they don't do it themselves, approach HR about it. Essentially, they have to reevaluate the conditions and environment in which you work and see if anything needs to be changed to accommodate the pregnancy. If there's any medical issues, they must take it into consideration also. Remember that it is not one-sided - i.e. their decision is not final until you are (within reason) satisfied. They are supposed to improve on your conditions based on your circumstances. That's all he knows, hope it helps.

I work for the HSE too, and was at risk management training recently, there was loads of stuff on pregnant employees. The guy giving the training said you can contact the health and safety dept for more info. He also said you will find a pregnant employee pack on the dublin north east area of the intranet - had a look there but couldnt spot it myself... if you give the Occ health and safety dept an email or a call, they may be able to direct you...

Its frustrating that your manager has done a risk assessment but you feel that the area you have been moved to is still risky. At the end of the day, the baba has to come first and you def need to speak to Occ health / GP re your concerns if you are not getting anywhere with your manager. best of luck!

Hi i am in the same position myself right now,i knpw this is an old post but what happened in the end