Maternity in training

[Jm96]

Hi, just wondering if someone could shed some light on a questions I have. If I was to fall pregnant whilst with my minder completing my 240 hours, what would happen to me as a trainee in terms of would I continue to my mod 7, or would I be taken out of the seat? If I did, what happens to me and my position with the company then?
Appreciate if nobody comments saying ‘just wait until you’ve completed your training’ as I know this is the best solution but not always the one that’s most achievable. Thank you I’m advance.

 

[zwk500]

Your Manager or Union rep is best placed to answer this, as it may well vary from TOC to TOC.

 

[kickin aff]

Certainly at my TOC, when a female driver becomes pregnant, she is put onto restrictive duties, ie office based.
Think in your scenario, it would be similar to trainees during the early covid times. Once you return to work, you will pick up where you left off more or less

 

[Jm96]

Thank you, could I refuse to go on restricted duties and carry on driving my Minding hours to complete my
Mod 7 or is that not possible usually

 

[kickin aff]

I would think all TOCs would work the same, risk assess and you would have no choice in the matter. However, that is only my view and management or human resources would be better placed to answer that. It is likely your company has an SOP on the matter and that would set everything out.

 

[Grvrdvicdr]

Girl at my despot completed just shy of 200 hours before going on maternity, when she’s back she’ll need a full reassessment of rules and traction ect, and likely by the time she passes she’ll have done twice the amount of hours needed originally due to route knowledge fade and then end up doing full assessments again on her final. Plus being on the lower pay for a lot longer.

 

[skyhigh]

Thank you, could I refuse to go on restricted duties and carry on driving my Minding hours to complete my
Mod 7 or is that not possible usually

Guessing you're with Northern, I don't think that will be possible. If you go off before Mod 7, you will need essentially to redo your A&Vs then go back onto minding hours. If you do manage to get your hours and mod 7 in, then when you return you'll need to basically do your mod 7 again to make sure you're ready to resume.

I would 100% recommend speaking to your union rep for advice though. You can speak to them in confidence and it won't get back to your manager if you don't want it to.

 

[Jm96]

Girl at my despot completed just shy of 200 hours before going on maternity, when she’s back she’ll need a full reassessment of rules and traction ect, and likely by the time she passes she’ll have done twice the amount of hours needed originally due to route knowledge fade and then end up doing full assessments again on her final. Plus being on the lower pay for a lot

Guessing you're with Northern, I don't think that will be possible. If you go off before Mod 7, you will need essentially to redo your A&Vs then go back onto minding hours. If you do manage to get your hours and mod 7 in, then when you return you'll need to basically do your mod 7 again to make sure you're ready to resume.

I would 100% recommend speaking to your union rep for advice though. You can speak to them in confidence and it won't get back to your manager if you don't

Thank you for this it’s really helpful. I was Just worried I got the sack haha.

 

[12LDA28C]

Hi, just wondering if someone could shed some light on a questions I have. If I was to fall pregnant whilst with my minder completing my 240 hours, what would happen to me as a trainee in terms of would I continue to my mod 7, or would I be taken out of the seat? If I did, what happens to me and my position with the company then?
Appreciate if nobody comments saying ‘just wait until you’ve completed your training’ as I know this is the best solution but not always the one that’s most achievable. Thank you I’m advance.

It would really depend on an individual TOC's procedures and the advice from your GP. If you were in good health with no history of troublesome pregnancies I don't see why you couldn't continue training for at least a few months, it should really be your decision.

Having said that, even if you completed your hours and became a qualified driver before having the baby, depending on how long you took off as maternity leave you would probably need to retake a Rules exam and do routes and traction all over again once you returned to work.

Certainly at my TOC, when a female driver becomes pregnant, she is put onto restrictive duties, ie office based.
Think in your scenario, it would be similar to trainees during the early covid times. Once you return to work, you will pick up where you left off more or less

Unlikely if say a year was taken off for maternity. Likely the hours already accrued would be reset to zero and the process would start again from the beginning.

 

[Jm96]

It would really depend on an individual TOC's procedures and the advice from your GP. If you were in good health with no history of troublesome pregnancies I don't see why you couldn't continue training for at least a few months, it should really be your decision.

Having said that, even if you completed your hours and became a qualified driver before having the baby, depending on how long you took off as maternity leave you would probably need to retake a Rules exam and do routes and traction all over again once you returned to work.

Thank you for this, I’ll cross the bridge if it comes to it but wanted to explore my options.

It would really depend on an individual TOC's procedures and the advice from your GP. If you were in good health with no history of troublesome pregnancies I don't see why you couldn't continue training for at least a few months, it should really be your decision.

Having said that, even if you completed your hours and became a qualified driver before having the baby, depending on how long you took off as maternity leave you would probably need to retake a Rules exam and do routes and traction all over again once you returned to work.



Unlikely if say a year was taken off for maternity. Likely the hours already accrued would be reset to zero and the process would start again from the beginning.

Yeah I would assume that my minding hours would be scrapped and I’d start back at 0 which I think is what would be best anyway, considering the length of time you are off.

 

[Mattyblob]

Someone on my course fell pregnant half way through her hours and had to restart training from day 1 (full rules) when she returned

 

[Jm96]

Someone on my course fell pregnant half way through her hours and had to restart training from day 1 (full rules) when she returned

Thank you. Guess it depends on how far in you are and the company policy.

 

[Carl98k]

The driver course is a big ask as it is, without adding pregnancy in to the mix. I’m not sure how you’d balance midwife appointments ect. No one can really tell you what to do as its personal choice, but I’d either have a baby then do the course or vis versa.

 

[LCC106]

You are allowed reasonable time off for appointments although it may be good to try and fix them for rest days. You are protected from discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy but if it’s something you’re trying for sooner rather than later, maybe make sure you’re there long enough before your expected week of confinement to be eligible for company maternity pay! Not all TOCs would take you out of the seat but if you were becoming uncomfortable or didn’t feel fit to walk a mile and a quarter on ballast getting on and off the train in the middle of nowhere then you should let your manager know.

 

[mindthedoors]

Thank you, could I refuse to go on restricted duties and carry on driving my Minding hours to complete my
Mod 7 or is that not possible usually

For safety reasons no TOC would want a pregnant individual to operate trains. Liability for anything that could go wrong could potentially sit with the company.

I'd recommend making the most out of admin support for the duration of pregnancy, it's good experience which could become worthwhile in the future should you wish to move into management.

Any significant break in driving hours will require a restart, including traction refresh (dependant on TOC and length of time off).

 

[12LDA28C]

For safety reasons no TOC would want a pregnant individual to operate trains. Liability for anything that could go wrong could potentially sit with the company.

I'm wondering how driving trains is unsafe and indeed any more unsafe for someone who is pregnant than someone who isn't? Is driving trains more unsafe than driving a car, getting on a bus, going shopping etc?

If the person is in good health and wants to keep on working up to a certain point then why shouldn't they? They shouldn't be forced to keep working but equally they shouldn't be forced to give up driving duties. It should be a matter of personal choice.

 

[mindthedoors]

No one is forced to declare they're pregnant, they're entitled to hide it as long as they can. Most company policies have a limit of 3 months notice to prepare maternity leave and mat pay, which brings the individual up to a 6 month limit of being pregnant on the job.

Re: Liability - If a pregnant driver has a horrific fatality incident and goes into shock they could potentially lose the baby. Other risks are slips and trips associated with climbing in and out of trains.

Ultimately, the initial question posted was regarding completing hours. As a newly qualified driver you'd most likely spend a significant time relearning everything from a minimum break of 12 months out the seat - rules/traction/Route refresh etc.

 

[dk1]

Experience with a trainee falling pregnant was that she was allowed to continue driving to a certain point once passing out then restricted to light duties before taking 12 month’s maternity leave. Apart from a few Keep In Touch (KIT) days towards the end of that leave she returned with a SIM day, 5 weeks route refreshing, then a week long pass out with her manager.

 

[43066]

No one is forced to declare they're pregnant, they're entitled to hide it as long as they can.

Not sure that applies to safety critical railway roles as you generally need to keep occupational health fully appraised of your health situation.

Re: Liability - If a pregnant driver has a horrific fatality incident and goes into shock they could potentially lose the baby. Other risks are slips and trips associated with climbing in and out of trains.

This is exactly the kind of thing TOCs will (rightly) be concerned about.

 

[mindthedoors]

Not sure that applies to safety critical railway roles as you generally need to keep occupational health fully appraised of your health situation

Well you'd think, yes. They should tell their line manager as soon as they're through that uncertain phase.

My point is that no manager will know you're pregnant until the bump shows so you could technically get away with hiding it, even if that's against policy. I wouldn't recommend that though.

 

[43066]

My point is that no manager will know you're pregnant until the bump shows so you could technically get away with hiding it, even if that's against policy. I wouldn't recommend that though.

Agreed. It would be very foolish to cover something like this up (so to speak!).