Sue,

Can I point you towards a great web page from the Uni of Loughborough on
driver ergonomics. They were one of the recent DoH/HSE back in work
pilot projects. Although there is little on pregnant workers per se,
there are .pdf downloadable files on all aspects  of driving ergonomics.

 
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/cd/docs_dandt/research/ergonomics/biw
/index.htm

Obviously you were referring to the employers obligations under the
Management Regs, and (more for interest than anything else) I've
outlined a couple of recent court cases regarding pregnant workers and
'failure to' or 'inappropriate' employer actions. 

If it is not reasonable to alter the driving (working) conditions or
hours of work, or if doing so would not avoid the risk, the employer
must suspend the employee from work (regulation 16(3)). Suspension must
be on full pay and benefits unless the employee has refused suitable
alternative work. In this situation, employers should be careful to
avoid sex discrimination claims such as that which succeeded in P&O
European Ferries (Dover) LTD (1) P&O European Ferries Short Sea
(Bermuda) Ltd. v Mrs. D M Iverson [1999] ICR 1088.  In that case, the
employer was unable to provide an explanation or justification for its
refusal to pay Mrs. Iverson while she was suspended on health and safety
grounds. The Employment Tribunal held that the employment tribunal was
correct to consider Mrs. Iverson’s pregnancy as the reason for the
denial of pay and that this constituted unlawful sex discrimination.

As the recent case of  Kitson v South lakes Wild Animal Park
(unreported, Case no. 6404250/2001) shows an employer’s failure to
comply with its health and safety obligations will often rise to a sex
discrimination claim and / or an automatically unfair dismissal claim.
One of the major attractions at the Cumbrian zoo where Miss Kitson
worked was the Tiger’s daily feeding ritual. Raw meat was placed on top
of a 16-foot pole, which the tigers would climb in order to retrieve it.
Miss Kitson was required to climb the pole in order to place meat on it.
When she became pregnant she refused to climb the pole, claiming that
this would place her at an unacceptable risk of falling and
miss-carrying her baby. Further, the raw meat itself put her baby’s life
in danger as it was possible that she could contract toxoplasmosis, a
disease that can be caught from raw meat or cat faeces. Miss Kitson was
informed that she was of no use to her employer if she could not carry
out these duties, so she resigned and claimed constructive dismissal.
The tribunal found in her favour and awarded £30,000 compensation.

There is also a duty to carry out a risk assessment in respect of any
women of childbearing age. This duty is separate from the duty to
undertake an individual risk assessment in respect of new or expectant
mothers  (see Mrs. S Day v T Pickles Farms LTD [1999] IRLR 217).

If your risk assessment  has reached the conclusion that the risk of
harm is substantial, then I guess you have already said altering the
working conditions are unlikely - you are looking at the higher levels
of control (e.g.  suspension) perhaps.

My thoughts, nothing more....

kind regards,

Lorenzo Visentin
BSc(Hons) RN SPOHN MIOSH
Group Occupational Health Manager
Sun Valley Foods Ltd. HEREFORD HR4 9PB
Directline: +44 (0)1432 362214
Directfax: +44 (0)1432 362421

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-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 19 November 2001 18:41
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Pregnant Sales Employees


Hi,

Does anyone have any advice regarding field sales employees who fall
pregnant.  If we took the New and Expectant Mothers Regs to the letter,
pregnant women should avoid excessive driving and manual handling.
However
in our line of business where Impact Sales people try to cold sell
outers
of chocolate, (weighing approx 3.6 Kgs)  this is the biggest part of
their
job.  Of  course we risk assess the person and job, but does anyone do
anything more?

Thanks for any help in anticipation.

Sue




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