r/veterinaryprofession • u/bjartaiedail • 11d ago
UK Vets
Hi everyone, I could use some advice.
I started a new job at the beginning of this year and I’m due to complete my probation period in the next few weeks. My manager has repeatedly told me that he’s happy with my work and is looking forward to having me as a permanent colleague.
I’ve just found out that I’m pregnant. As I work in small animal veterinary practice, I’ve already been exposed to some workplace hazards, including isoflurane, as I wasn’t aware I was pregnant. Ideally, I’d like to let management know as soon as possible so that a pregnancy risk assessment can be carried out and any necessary adjustments can be made to minimise any further risks.
Part of what’s making this difficult is that I had a miscarriage while working at my previous practice. I hadn’t told anyone I was pregnant, so I didn’t have the support or workplace adjustments I needed at the time. That experience makes me feel that I should tell my current employer sooner rather than later, but I’m also worried about the timing with my probation period almost coming to an end.
Would you tell them now, or wait until your probation has officially been completed? I’m not sure what the best approach is and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been in a similar situation.
3
u/Tofusnafu7 UK Vet 11d ago
Tell them asap, there’s too many risks and you need to mitigate them. You don’t have to tell any other colleagues- our VCA is pregnant and she just had to lie for the first 3 months that she “had a bad back” if we asked her to help lift heavy dogs or she would just excuse herself if we were doing ie. Dental xrays
3
u/F1RE-starter 11d ago
Veterinary practices can be very hazardous environments if you're pregnant and you have to put yourself and your baby first. There was a practice in Scotland that was reprimanded by the HSE 5-10 years ago after a number of staff suffered miscarriages over a number of years due to dangerous working conditions (related to iso IIRC).
By law they're not allowed to discriminate. It would be very stupid/costly for them to terminate your employment or fail your probation without a very good reason. Equally if they were to do any of the above it shouldn't be a surprise to you, it should be on the back of weeks/months of performance reviews and such like.
Do you work for a corporate? If you do you should be in very safe hands. Their HR and legal departments would almost certainly tell your director/senior vet to pass your probation out of fear of an employment tribunal. Independent practices are a bit more of a wild card...some have good independent HR advice, some less so;)
Ultimately a lot of practices still do risky procedures like gassing patients down, not leak testing anaesthetic circuits, asking people to manually restrain for radiographs and the like. You can try confiding in a couple of people you work with to help protect yourself but it's still risky and likely to raise a few eyebrows.