Pregnancy in the veterinary workplace

VETERINARY WOMAN RECOMMENDS: The Prenant Vet webinar by VDS Training. Use the code VW2021 at checkout and you will be helping to support the work we do.

While there are precautions that apply to most jobs regarding pregnancy in the workplace, being a vet in practice presents additional specific risks. For the mother-to-be there are concerns and uncertainty about the potential hazards in the workplace. For many veterinary businesses, the impact of pregnancy and maternity leave can be great. So, it’s crucial that all parties understand what provisions need to be made and where responsibilities lie. This is vital, not only to ensure the physical and psychological health of the pregnant, working mother and her baby, but also to safeguard good working relationships and limit any impact on the business.

Breaking the news

There is no legal requirement to inform your employer that you’re pregnant or have had a baby. However, if you want to claim maternity rights and benefits, the law requires an employee to inform her employer of the pregnancy at least 15 weeks prior to the baby’s due date^1,2. In our line of work, it’s advisable to do so much sooner. Quite apart from to avoiding awkward questioning, giving employers as much notice as possible will enable early implementation of the correct provisions. Plus, the employer’s duty of care does not come into effect until written notification of the pregnancy is received.^1,2

Some employers may choose to include a policy in their employee manual which requires employees to notify the appropriate person as soon as they become aware they are pregnant or, more commonly, after the first trimester. Understandably, there is often hesitancy around informing anyone of a pregnancy during the period of high-risk for miscarriage. Informing one individual, such as a line manager who is able to help mitigate risks in practice, is often a sensible compromise

Veterinary practice risk assessment

‘Health and safety’ is often a dreaded phrase for employers, but when it comes to pregnancy in the workplace its importance is paramount. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSW) 1999 state that employers must carry out a risk assessment related to the risks of all their employees at work. Potential hazards for ‘new or expectant mothers’ as well as ‘females of childbearing age that could become pregnant’ must be specifically evaluated.³ The Health and Safety Executive has some useful FAQ’s for consideration as part of a risk assessment, including a flow chart of how to carry out the process.²²

Managing risks to pregnant vets

Employers are not required to carry out a separate official risk assessment when they are informed of each employee’s pregnancy, but many may choose to do so to ensure their employee’s needs are adequately met. It is recommended to review this regularly throughout the pregnancy, ideally at the start of each trimester. When an employer receives written notification (regulation 18 of MHSW) that their employee is pregnant, has given birth within the past six months, or is breastfeeding, the employer should immediately take into account the risks identified in their workplace risk assessment and implement any necessary changes.³

Usually, it is possible to remove or adequately reduce the risks in most veterinary practices but if not, one of the following actions must be taken:

• Action 1– Temporarily adjust working conditions and/or hours of work.
• Action 2– Offer suitable alternative work (at the same rate of pay) if available.
• Action 3– Suspend her from work on paid leave for as long as necessary, to protect her health and safety, and that of her child.

Night work and pregnancy

Pregnant women can continue to work nights unless there is a specific work risk and your GP or midwife has provided a medical certificate stating that you must not work nights. If this is the case then employers must offer suitable alternative day work on the same terms and conditions. If that is not possible, they must suspend you from work on paid leave for as long as necessary to protect your health and safety and/or that of your child.

The Workplace Regulations require employers to provide suitable rest facilities for workers who are pregnant or breastfeeding. The facilities should be suitably located and, where necessary, should provide appropriate facilities for the new or expectant mother to lie down. While HSE advise there is no legal obligation to provide specific facilities for nursing mothers to feed or express, they recommend the provision of suitable facilities as good practice. For example, it is not suitable for women to express milk in the toilet.⁴

Pregnancy risks in veterinary practice^4-8

Risk evaluations should encompass physical, biological, chemical and psychological aspects of the job, and these should be discussed with the employee. Employers should encourage pregnant employees to seek medical advice regarding their specific risks during pregnancy. While employers do have a duty of care, the decision about avoiding many workplace hazards is up to the employee – it is unlawful for an employer to stop an employee working in their usual capacity if it safe to do so, just because they are pregnant. Check out our article; Specific considerations for pregnant vets and their employers, which discusses risks in more detail. VDS training provide the excellent ‘Pregnant Vet’ CPD course to help individuals work safely and prepare mentally, physically, emotionally and financially for becoming a parent.

Things to consider:

Physical and practical considerations for pregnant vets:

• Risk of trauma and injury
• Manual handling of animals
• Shocks and vibrations
• Excessive noise
• Ionising radiation
• Suitability of the work place/practices (including sites visited in ambulatory practice)
• Impact of physiological changes during pregnancy (such as loss of balance in later pregnancy, increasing size, backache, the need for more frequent toilet trips etc.)
• Adequate nutrition and hydration
• Temperature
• Working alone
• Working with visual display units
• Travelling
• PPE
• Nausea (morning sickness)

Biological and chemical risks:

• Infectious or zoonotic agents (toxoplasma, leptospirosis, E. coli, Campylobacter, chlamydophila, listeria, salmonella, cryptosporidia etc.)
• Live vaccines
• Hazardous chemicals/drugs (hormones, steroids, opioids, cytotoxic drugs, prostaglandins, anaesthetic agents etc.)
• Medications (including – but not exhaustive – NSAIDs, phenylephrine, ACE inhibitors, tetracycline antibiotics, macrolides, methotrexate, warfarin, benzodiazepines).^18-21 A list of factsheets on use of human medications can be found HERE.
• Lead toxicity (e.g. on farms)

Potential psychological factors:

• Altered emotional state
• Increased fatigue (mental and physical)
• Sleep deprivation
• Stress
• Reduced ability to deal with, and potentially greater consequences of, work pressures
• Increased anxiety
• Post-natal depression
• Loneliness
• Reduced/loss of professional identity

Parental rights^9,12

Antenatal appointments advised by a registered midwife or doctor can be undertaken during working hours, with an entitlement of pay and time off. Employers are entitled to see proof of these appointments. Fathers are entitled to attend two of such appointments during work hours with pay and time off. Any contractual benefit received from employment such as holiday, housing, car or CPD allowance must continue by law during maternity leave, even if the employee does not qualify for SMP. Pension contributions will vary depending on individual contract.

Maternity leave and pay^1,9-12

Maternity leave can start 11 weeks prior to the due date and all employees are entitled to 52 weeks in total. Employees are not allowed to start back at work within two weeks of giving birth – not that many new mothers would want to return to such a demanding job so quickly. Statutory maternity pay (SMP) or maternity allowance (MA) is only payable for up to 39 weeks. To qualify for SMP, you have to have been continuously employed by your employer for 26 weeks or more by the fifteenth week before your baby is due, although this does not include self-employment. Proof of pregnancy is required to enable you to claim statutory maternity pay (SMP) – this comes in the form of a MATB1 form, which is issued by the midwife usually after 16 weeks of pregnancy.

Employers should provide employees with an SMP1 form if they do not qualify for SMP, which allows them to claim MA from the government. This would be a bit of an income drop but is non-taxable and exempt from NI contributions. Employees are still eligible for statutory maternity leave (SML) and SMP if their baby is born early, is stillborn after the start of the 24th week of pregnancy or dies after being born.

Shared Parental Leave

Shared parental leave (SPL) was introduced in 2015. In essence, it’s up to a year of leave, shared between both parents. Eligible parents who are sharing responsibility for a child can get SPL in the first year after the birth of their child, or following adoption or surrogacy. It allows up to 50 weeks of SPL and up to 37 weeks of Shared Parental Pay (ShPP).¹⁶

You can go in to work a combined total of 20 “SPLIT” days (earning up to 20 days’ pay if your employer agrees) during the year and choose to end it at any time. Many employers are not well experienced in how SPL works, and new parents often don’t know enough about it to push for it. Read the story of early adopter, Greg Dickens, and how SPL worked for his family.

Discrimination and the law¹⁵

You must not discriminate against someone you employ, or are considering employing, because of:

• their pregnancy
• an illness related to their pregnancy, including related time off
• maternity pay or leave they take, or plan to take

The law applies regardless of how long the person has been employed.

Discrimination includes:

• dismissing them
• not offering them a job
• changing their pay or other terms
• forcing them to work while on maternity leave
• stopping them returning to work because they’re breastfeeding

It’s a good idea to clarify with your employee before they go on maternity leave how much contact they would like from the practice. For example, if they would like to be informed about potential promotions and job opportunities within the practice they would be eligible to apply for, while they are on leave. This will vary between individuals and help to ensure the correct level and type of communication is maintained, reducing the possibility of them feeling either too pressured or too isolated from practice life and career opportunities.

Returning to work after parental leave^9,10

Employees have the right to return to their existing job if they have returned to work before taking any additional maternity leave (AML). If the employee has taken AML, employers must offer her original job or a similar role with the same working terms and conditions. However, an employee can be made redundant while on leave if there are justifiable grounds for redundancy and there is no suitable alternative job available.

If an employee decides to take the full maternity leave allowance no notice of their return is needed, although it’s helpful to the employer do so. If they do not want to take all of their leave, they must give at least eight weeks’ notice that they intend to return early. If an employee decides not to return to work at all, they must give the employer notice in the normal way.

Just as with all employees, working parents are entitled to request a flexible working pattern in writing. The employer must consider the request and respond in writing with full reasons for the decision if the request is declined.⁸

It’s important as an employee to remember the impact flexible working can have, especially on small practices. Think about what would work well for the business and other staff as well as for you, and you are more likely to have your request granted. Flexible working can be very positive for both parties, but may take some discussion and compromise.

Smoothing the return to veterinary work ¹³

Becoming a parent is a truly life-changing experience, and the impact will be different for every individual. In order to manage a healthy, happy working life for employees, discussions about work must be tailored to the individual and open to regular revision as circumstances change. Before and during parental leave it is important to agree the type and regularity of communications. Do employees want to feel connected and be kept well informed about cases, practice developments, staff news etc. and via email, phone, messaging app? Or do they want a complete break from working life during parental leave? This may change over time.

Returning to work can be a worry but there are a few things that can help the process. Up to ten ‘keep in touch’ (KIT) days can be completed by the employee during the maternity leave period if both parties agree. This is usually paid at the employee’s standard daily rate, but this is not a legal requirement and should be discussed and agreed beforehand. It’s important to note that working for just a few hours will use up one KIT day, but you will usually only be paid for the hours of work completed.  Most importantly, both employees and employers should feel able to voice any concerns about the ‘returning to work’ process so that issues can be addressed.

VDS training provide CPD on returning to work to prepare the employee, boost confidence and ensure a smooth transition back into the workplace from full time parenting.

BEVA Mumsvet have a useful checklist for employees returning to work to ensure the following are addressed:

• VDS cover is resumed
• RCVS membership is returned to UK practising category
• CPD requirements are satisfied
• OV qualifications are still valid (if applicable)
• Consider any refresher courses or CPD that may help prepare for the return to work following a break
• Any changes to practice policy and procedures are discussed, including changes to medicines, procedures, equipment and staff (a good use of a KIT day would be a mini induction to changes in the practice).

https://www.beva.org.uk/Careers/Mumsvet/Guidance-for-the-Employer

Covid-19 and Working During Pregnancy

Pregnant women have been placed in the ‘vulnerable’ group at moderate risk. This move is precautionary and there is no current evidence of risk of Covid-19 passing to the baby. However, it is known from other respiratory infections (e.g. influenza, SARS) that pregnant woman who contract significant respiratory infections in the third trimester are more likely to become seriously unwell. This may also lead to preterm birth of the baby, which is believed to occur to enable improved efficiency of breathing or ventilation for the mother.¹⁴

Government advice is for pregnant workers to work from home where possible – employers should take steps to make this possible.¹² Pregnant women should follow the latest government guidance on staying alert and safe, social distancing and avoid anyone who has symptoms suggestive of coronavirus. This is especially true in the third trimester (more than 28 weeks’ pregnant). A full risk assessment should be carried out and if this reveals any risk to an employee, or their baby, the employer must take steps to ensure that they are not exposed to the risk or damaged by it.¹³

Pregnant women at any stage of gestation should not be required to continue working if this is not supported by the risk assessment, as per the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSW). If a risk assessment indicates that a pregnant woman under 28 weeks’ gestation can continue to work in a client facing role, and the woman chooses to do so, she should be supported by her employer. For pregnant women of over 28 weeks gestation, and for women with underlying health conditions such as heart or lung disease at any gestation, a more precautionary approach is advised. Women in this category within human healthcare are recommended to stay at home, and for those who choose not to follow government advice and attend the workplace, they must not be deployed in roles where they are working with patients.¹⁴

A final note

While we’ve endeavoured to give a detailed overview of the complexity of the rights and responsibilities surrounding pregnancy in the workplace, this article should not be taken as comprehensive nor constitute any sort of legal advice. Employees and employers should always seek the necessary professional guidance.

Overall, if the appropriate procedures are put in place and communication between employer and employee remains open, then pregnancy in the workplace should not result in negative consequences for either party, colleagues or the practice. We’d love to hear from those of you that have been pregnant at work – what were the biggest challenges? How did you structure your maternity leave? Or perhaps you’re a business owner who has had to make provisions for pregnant employees – were you aware of your rights and responsibilities? Get in touch to share your stories by contacting info@veterinarywoman.co.uk.

References:

1. https://www.gov.uk/working-when-pregnant-your-rights Accessed 09.09.2020
2. ACAS Maternity leave and pay. Accessed 09.09.2020 http://www.acas.org.uk/maternity
3. HSE New and expectant mothers – the law. Accessed 09.09.2020 http://www.hse.gov.uk/mothers/law.htm
4. HSE regulations for new and expectant mothers that work. Accessed 09.09.2020 http://www.nhs.uk/planners/breastfeeding/documents/new%20and%20exp%20mothers%20who%20work.pdf Accessed 09.09.2020
5. Health and Safety Executive (2001). Working Safely With Ionising Radiation: Guidelines for Expectant or Breastfeeding Mothers, HSE: 3, 6. Accessed 09.09.2020 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3242/contents/made Accessed 09.09.2020
6. https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/anestheticgases/#C1 Accessed 09.09.2020
7. https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/overview Accessed 09.09.2020
8. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2020-to-2021 Accessed 09.09.2020
9. https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working/overview Accessed 09.09.2020
10. https://www.gov.uk/employee-rights-when-on-leave Accessed 09.09.2020
11. http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/statutory-maternity-leave-returning-to-work Accessed 09.09.2020 Accessed 09.09.2020
12. https://www.bva.co.uk/coronavirus/frequently-asked-questions
13. https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-pregnancy/covid-19-virus-infection-and-pregnancy/#coronavirus
14. https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/2020-08-10-occupational–health–advice–for–employers-and–pregnant-women-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.pdf
15. https://www.acas.org.uk/managing-your-employees-maternity-leave-and-pay/discrimination-because-of-pregnancy-or-maternity
16. https://www.acas.org.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay
17. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pregnancy-advice-on-contact-with-animals-that-are-giving-birth
18. https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/uf9707
19. https://www.medsci.org/v02p0100.htm
20. Best Use of Medicine in Pregnancy website https://www.medicinesinpregnancy.org/
21. UK Teratology Information Service http://www.uktis.org/
22. Protecting new and expectant mothers at work – HSE

VETERINARY WOMAN RECOMMENDS: The Pregnant Vet webinar by VDS Training. This course helps to take the stress out of preparing for maternity leave and returning to work afterwards. It is also ideal source of information and best practice for practice managers and partners. You will learn tips and techniques to help you manage your pregnancy while working in practice. Use the code VW2021 at checkout and your purchase will help to support the work we do.

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