A friend of mine is into her last trimester of pregnancy. She works in a building with no lift. She has to go up 4 flights of 15 steps each to get to work. The bathroom is located on floor below her and the canteen is the floor above her. Needless to say she is finding this very tiring and doesn't think she can continue as she gets bigger. Going on sick leave isn't an option because she can't afford it. She has requested a proper chair to support her back and a footrest for under her desk but has been denied this due to budget constraints. There is no chance of them locating her to the ground floor. Is there anything she can do?
pregnant - 4 flights of stairs in work
- Thread starter sandrat
- Start date
I think she was hoping there was something that could be done like moving her to another office (she works for a bank) or avoiding meetings in the canteen. What can she do about getting the chair? At the moment they havent even given her a proper desk she is moved around from desk to desk because they don't really have a place for her. They moved her out of the branch (ground floor) because she would have to stand a lot and carry money so it wasn't suitable so she is kind of in limbo. It is really getting her down I was wondering if she had any rights. She isnt getting treated very well by her bosses at the moment and they are even making her take annual leave to attend her consultant. I am just a bit worried about her really and was hoping I could help in some way.
Purple, always the gentlemen
Is she contract , parttime ??? , if fulltime, time in job ....
Can she contact Union rep in her job and ask for advice, maybe suggest to employers she is feeling unwell due to unneccesary strain of working in old building, and will document this in letter to Manager of Branch / Divisional Manager
PatriciaFox
Registered User
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It seems the bank has taken her off the floor (carrying coin, money etc) which is good, She probably needs to contact HR/Facilities about a chair.
Pregnant women are hardier than thought - not all want different treatment. As my sister said - I'm pregnant, not sick (while picking up a bag of soil)
Pregnant women are hardier than thought - not all want different treatment. As my sister said - I'm pregnant, not sick (while picking up a bag of soil)
she filled in a request for the chair (health and safety form for pregnancy or something like that) and it was refused due to budget. She has been pretty hardy but has been getting bad back and hip pain which might be related to all those stairs. Also she is carrying very high into her ribs so she gets out of breath easily. I have visions of her passing out half way up the stairs.
Don't mean to be rude, but are you - your friend?? You have had a load of posts about pregancy & maternity leave in the last while.
Regardless, you/she is entitled to a proper chair/footrest & I reckon most banks could stretch to that egardless of budget constraints.
They can't/shouldn't put in a lift (having a Purple moment!).
If you/she needs to go on sick leave, then surely health is the more prevailent criteria, rather than can it be "afforded".
4 flights of stairs is alot first thing in the morning, particularly in 3rd trimester, but a flight up & down during the day should be managable - if not, have a chat with the doctor.
best of luck with the baby!
Regardless, you/she is entitled to a proper chair/footrest & I reckon most banks could stretch to that egardless of budget constraints.
They can't/shouldn't put in a lift (having a Purple moment!).
If you/she needs to go on sick leave, then surely health is the more prevailent criteria, rather than can it be "afforded".
4 flights of stairs is alot first thing in the morning, particularly in 3rd trimester, but a flight up & down during the day should be managable - if not, have a chat with the doctor.
best of luck with the baby!
nope its not me though I am pregnant! My own boss has started throwing days off at me for ante natal appointments and is even talking about moving me downstairs for my last week (i work on the first floor and have 10 days left until maternity leave!!!) cos I get a little out breath towards the top of the stairs. I think being the size of a house helps. I reckon personally if I had to go up and down the stairs every time I need to visit the bathroom I'd be fairly wrecked by the end of the day. It is bad enough waddling to the end of the corridor once (if not twice or three times) an hour for toilet breaks. She has just come back off sick leave because she will get paid nothing if she continues it and won't get paid for maternity leave either if she takes any more sick leave. I think she is kind of afraid to say anything in work for fear of the reaction.
I've never heard of a special chair for pregnancy, I assembled two boxes of photocopy paper as a footrest. Don't know why but I had constant pain when walking with my second pregnancy especially towards the end, and I worked up to 4 days before birth, but I'm of the opinion that excercise is especially good when you're pregnant, sitting down all day is not good, I also live in a house with 3 flights of stairs (no bathroom on the main living level, and had to deal with a child of under 2 at the time). I'm not being unsympathetic but your friend has to make the choice going on sick leave, asking for meetings not to be held in the canteen (can't see the problem with this in any case) or grinning and bearing it.
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Ceist Beag
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She works for a bank and due to budget constraints they can't afford a new chair? I wouldn't accept that - unless of course the bank is Bear Sterns!
I'm no HR expert but I think she is legally entitled to a chair that isn't uncomfortable for her to sit in - has she approached HR in the bank? Again I'm no HR expert but this sounds to me like bullying and I would think they haven't a leg to stand on if they try and enforce this. I think personally she should take more sick leave if she cannot continue at work in the current circumstances but it might be better if she gets some independent advice from a HR legal expert.
Exercise is good for pregnant women, but passing out on the stairs is not good. For her own safety she should take a break or sit down between flights or something just to get her breath back. It will take her a bit longer but she will be in less danger of getting light headed.
They should get her a proper chair alright - actually I thought everyone should have a proper chair if they have a desk job shouldn't they? I doubt they'll bother about this, sounds like a disgrace to me to be honest - I thought most office workers had proper office swivel chairs at this stage which should be adjustable and therefore fine for pregnant women too.
I suspect it's the attitude towards her which is getting her down more than anything else. She should go to her doctor and talk to the people in the hospital as well. They will tell her her rights. Does her company have an Occupational Health person?
They should get her a proper chair alright - actually I thought everyone should have a proper chair if they have a desk job shouldn't they? I doubt they'll bother about this, sounds like a disgrace to me to be honest - I thought most office workers had proper office swivel chairs at this stage which should be adjustable and therefore fine for pregnant women too.
I suspect it's the attitude towards her which is getting her down more than anything else. She should go to her doctor and talk to the people in the hospital as well. They will tell her her rights. Does her company have an Occupational Health person?
Thanks
Has your friend talked to HR? For a start this 'won't be entitled to maternity leave if she takes sick leave' is very suspect as I cannot see how it would apply.
She need to look at the maternity leave policy asap and see her doctor regarding the health issues.
Antenatal appointments never get taken out of holiday time. She needs these holiday days reinstated asap (HR again).
If she is working in a bank, the should have an HR section - she needs to make an appointment and talk to them.
She need to look at the maternity leave policy asap and see her doctor regarding the health issues.
Antenatal appointments never get taken out of holiday time. She needs these holiday days reinstated asap (HR again).
If she is working in a bank, the should have an HR section - she needs to make an appointment and talk to them.
Diziet, you've misquoted Sandrat. She didn't say 'won't be entitled to maternity leave if she takes sick leave' , she said
She is of course entitled to maternity leave by law. I'm not sure whether the employer is obliged to pay her anything while on maternity leave, but if she has enough PRSI worked up she will get statutory maternity pay.
She is of course entitled to maternity leave by law. I'm not sure whether the employer is obliged to pay her anything while on maternity leave, but if she has enough PRSI worked up she will get statutory maternity pay.
F
Flax
Guest
If I understand correctly, working on the 4th floor is a new thing for her? She (pre-pregnancy) used to work on a lower floor?
Your friend is entitled to attend ante-natal appointments without taking annual leave. Is there an occupational health physician or nurse in the bank that she can attend and to whom she can talk about her back and the stairs?
If not she needs to get her own doctor to write asking about same and asking that she be provided with the chair for Health , Safety and Welfare reasons. Equally if she works for a bank there is bound to be a Health and Safety Officer there to whom she could write enclosing a copy of her doctor's recommendations. It is usually not enough to just ask for a special chair as a lot of these large organizations are very bureaucratic and do not want to set precedent without a written reason.However under H/S regs the onus is on the employer to make the workplace safe for all employees so a chair should not be a big problem.
Now the stairs is different . If the employer can, they should, if possible, move her to an office that is more suitable . They may be able to do this easily, but she is not suffering from an illness nor is she disabled. Granted, four flights of stairs first thing is hard, but for the rest of the day, if she is a woman with normal health , exercising up and down stairs six or seven times daily would just be considered good for her. She can go on maternity leave at 30 weeks as far as I know and if she is very large she may have no choice. Sitting down and minding yourself is not the way to ensure a healthy pregnancy; exercise and keeping a firm eye on her weight would be much more beneficial. If she is having health problems as in raised blood pressure etc then she needs to go on sick leave for her own and the baby's sake.
If not she needs to get her own doctor to write asking about same and asking that she be provided with the chair for Health , Safety and Welfare reasons. Equally if she works for a bank there is bound to be a Health and Safety Officer there to whom she could write enclosing a copy of her doctor's recommendations. It is usually not enough to just ask for a special chair as a lot of these large organizations are very bureaucratic and do not want to set precedent without a written reason.However under H/S regs the onus is on the employer to make the workplace safe for all employees so a chair should not be a big problem.
Now the stairs is different . If the employer can, they should, if possible, move her to an office that is more suitable . They may be able to do this easily, but she is not suffering from an illness nor is she disabled. Granted, four flights of stairs first thing is hard, but for the rest of the day, if she is a woman with normal health , exercising up and down stairs six or seven times daily would just be considered good for her. She can go on maternity leave at 30 weeks as far as I know and if she is very large she may have no choice. Sitting down and minding yourself is not the way to ensure a healthy pregnancy; exercise and keeping a firm eye on her weight would be much more beneficial. If she is having health problems as in raised blood pressure etc then she needs to go on sick leave for her own and the baby's sake.
Correct she used to work on ground floor before pregnancy.
She has had a better day today. I told her to take her time and not feel rushed and if she needed to sit down between flights to do it. I wouldnt fancy seeing her trying to get out during a fire drill. She isnt carrying much weight in fact she has lost weight so far in the pregnancy (like myself) the pregnancy diet is going to be the next big thing.
F
Flax
Guest
That seems a bit unfair so.
I agree she should take as long as possible going up the stairs.
I agree she should take as long as possible going up the stairs.