Examples of processes and steps
The process and steps required to ensure a female employee’s health and wellbeing during pregnancy will vary.
For many female employees, variation to duties, equipment and the work environment will not be necessary and usual duties may be performed for the duration of the employee’s pregnancy. However, for employees experiencing or likely to experience medical and/or occupational health and safety issues, a review resulting in appropriate modifications of the work environment and/or duties and/or environmental conditions may be necessary to meet medical specialist advice.
In the interests of ensuring the health and wellbeing of pregnant employees, where medical issues or occupational health and safety issues arise, it is the responsibility of the employee to raise and discuss these issues with their principal/manager. However, there may be instances where a manager must exercise duty of care on the basis of protecting and ensuring the health and well-being of all employees.
It is important that open communication between the employee and principal/manager occur to ensure that reasonable and appropriate actions can occur. A pregnant employee should request a meeting with the principal/manager at the earliest appropriate opportunity. (The employee may have a support person accompany her; the support person may be, for example, the employee’s partner, a friend or colleague).
In this meeting the pregnant employee and principal/manager collaboratively:
(a)discuss medical and/or occupational health and safety issues and needs;
(b)review, if available, medical documentation;
(c)where appropriate, negotiate completion of a Consent to Contact Treating Medical Practitioner Form, granting consent for the manager/principal to contact the treating medical specialist to ensure the employee’s health, safety and wellbeing is protected through establishment of appropriate and suitable duties and/or other needs;
(d)identify and assess risks to the employee and the health of her unborn child across the four main categories of physical, chemical, biological and other risk and develop risk control measures;
(e)review the work environment and whether the range of current duties are suitable throughout the pregnancy;
(f)where appropriate, consider and negotiate flexible work arrangements (egstand alone part time, job share, varied working hours) within the range of standard hours in school/other work unit hours;
(g)complete an Alternative Duties and/or Modifications to Work Environment for Pregnant Employees Formdocumenting a comprehensive description of alternative duties and/or the work environment and/or environmental conditions in view of advice provided by/sought from the medical specialist;
(h)where appropriate, consider the capacity of the school/worksite to provide alternative duties and/or modifications to the work environment and/or environmental conditions and take reasonable steps to support the employee in her current workplace;
(i)where appropriate, and in consideration of medical specialist advice, take reasonable steps to temporarily relocate to a safe position at another school/worksite for the duration of the employee’s pregnancy or as recommended by the treating medical specialist;
(j)where appropriate, discuss and consider when an employee experiences significant medical difficulties and/or the workplace and/or environmental risks are unable to be controlled by risk control measures and/or the health and safety of the employee is at risk, and/or placement to safe alternative duties is unachievable.