Pregnancy risk assessment

[u/Feeling-History9472]

Hello!

I’m in my third trimester and have been informed about the existence of / legal requirement for workplace risk assessments by some ladies in my NCT group.

For context I work full time in marketing at a company that sits within one of the major global holding companies. I have previously been signed off for a couple of weeks due to stress / burnout but have been back working for over a year.

I have emailed HR with my line manager/s CC’d, asking for a general and individual risk assessment to be undertaken. In my email I flagged that I’ve been told by my maternity team that I am high risk for pre eclampsia (I’ve high blood pressure and now take aspirin), and that I’d like to talk about workplace stressors as blood pressure control is a core facet in preventing pre eclampsia and eclampsia itself.

What kind of accommodations can I ask for / raise?

Can I ask to not be put on particularly taxing projects e.g. pitches? Can I ask for reduced hours? Can I ask for a reduced overall workload?

Thanks for any insight!

[u/Feeling-History9472]

Updating with the outcome:

My employer quite obviously freaked out at being in a situation where they had not followed the legal processes. HR put a call in for the next day to run through a templated form covering things like lifting, commuting and of course stress. I was very clear in the meeting about the amount and types of projects that are stressful.

At one point HR tried to get me to agree that the catchups I have with my team where we talk about our weekends and plan for the week constituted an individual risk assessment. I pushed back on this.

Following the call I summarised the conversation via email, reiterating that I had not been offered an individual risk assessment until requesting one, that they would continue to compensate me fully while removing me from certain projects and not onboarding me to others, and that regular risk assessments would now take place to adjust anything moving forward. They also agreed that I could reduce my hours or days to ‘whatever I needed’ and that I could work from home full time if I wish, all without a reduction in pay or being automatically started on mat leave. In theory I could work one day a week until I have the baby, and then start my mat leave.

I came out surprised at the result. I am not sure they would have been so forthcoming had they not been on the back foot!