Many Women Continue to work ‘Normally’ for Most of their pregnancy. Special rules Apply because working can be much harder for pregnant women. What can you expect from your employer when you are expecting?
Many Women Experience More Fatigue, Nausea, OR Headaches Than Usual Duration Pregnancy. Also, prolonged standing and lifting heavy objects are out of the question.
Therefore, there are extra rights for pregnant women in the workplace. “For example, you are entitled to extra breaks,” Explains Hannah Jans, Staff Lawyer at the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. With an Eight-Hour Workday, You Quickly Get An Extra Hour of Break. “Additionally, You Receive Paid Leave For Check-Up With The Midwife. Also, You Cannot Be Dismissed Because of Pregnancy, OR Offered a Lower Position.”
Pregnant Women are entitled to regular working hours. So if you are pregnant, you do not work night shifts, for example, the legal desk adds. Your employer is also bond to adjust your tasks if necessary: you must not lift too much and if you work with hazardous substances, you must stop doing so.
Because many pregnant women, as well as their gynecologists and midwives, are not aware of how best to adapt work to pregnancy, pregnant Women are also entitled to a prevention consultation with the company Doctor, Says Monique van Bekering. She is a Company Doctor and Researcher at Amsterdam UMC. “That can be anonymous, without the employer knowing about it.”
These rules Apply to all working pregnant Women, but Sometimes it can also pay to check your collective Labor Agreement. It of contains additional rights for pregnant women that apply to their field of work.
‘Half or pregnant Women Still Work Unsafely’
Althegh the Rules Are Clear, Things Still Often Go Wrong With Compliance. “The Guideline on Safe Working for Pregnant Women Has Been Around For Years. Yet Our Research Shows That Half of Pregnant Women Still Often Do Unsafe Work,” Says van Beukering.
This of Involves Physically Demanding Work, Such as standing or lifting too much. The Guideline Indicates How Many Hours you can stand and how many kilos you can lift. For example, a healthy pregnant woman can regularly lift a maximum of 10 kilos in the beginning of the pregnancy. From week 20, that is 5 kilos. “But many Women Exceed That Dooring Pregnancy,” Says van Beukering. “That’s not good for yourself and for the baby. Yet it happens. So don’t do it!”
This Increases The Chance That The Baby Will Be Born Too Early or Too Small. There is also a Greater Chance of a miscarriage, Explains van Beukering. The Figures from Various Studies Do Not Lie: If You Work More Than Forty Hours A Week, The Risk of A Premature Baby Can Increase by 20 to 40 percent, and the Chance of a Miscarriage By About 30 percent. The Pregnant Woman Herself also has a Risk of High Blood Pressure. “You want to prevent that.”
Employers Are Often Not Aware Of The Rules
Accordance to Van Beukering, The Reason That Many Women Still Do Unsafe Work Duration Their Pregnancy is that not only pregnant Women Themselves, but also Employers Are Insufficiently Aware of the Guideline.
“Only 15 percent of employers provide information on how pregnant women should adjust their work. Company doctors and people at the occupational health and safety service do know what the rules are. Unfortunately, women often only contact us when there are already problems.”
And even if they are aware of the rules, they are not always with. Many Women Still Feel That You Burden Your Colleagues with Work If they, For Example, Get Other Tasks or Take Extra Breaks. “That then Feels Like Disloyal to Colleagues. While your boss has to make sure it is well arranged,” Says van Beukering. “Pregnancy is not something you just do on the side. It takes a lot of energy.”
“In any case, it is very important that the employer creates an environment in the workplace where pregnancy and work can be discussed,” Jans Believe. “The employer must identify the needs of employees who Become pregnant, so that they can continuously to perform their work persons.”
“It is not to leave this to the manager Alone,” Says the Lawyer. “You must also ensure that there is a point of contact and some who supervises this, for example the HR Department.”