Safe working conditions for a safe maternity experience

Transcription

1 Safe working conditions for a safe maternity experience

2 The right to a safe maternity experience A pregnant or breastfeeding worker may be entitled to special protection. If she is working in conditions that are a hazard to her health or that of her unborn or breast-feeding child, she is entitled to be assigned immediately to other tasks that are safe and that she is reasonably capable of performing. However, to be entitled to ask her employer for a reassignment, she must be medically fit to work. If her workstation is not subsequently modified or if she is not reassigned to another job, she is entitled to stop working temporarily and to be paid indemnities by the CSST.

3 Medical certificate To exercise her right to a safe maternity experience, the worker must see a physician and describe her working conditions and her concerns regarding her pregnancy. If the physician considers the worker to be at risk, he or she must complete the Preventive Withdrawal and Reassignment Certificate for a Pregnant or Breastfeeding Worker. For the certificate to be valid, the physician who completes the certificate must consult the physician in charge of health services for the establishment in which the worker is employed or, if there is no such person, the physician designated by the director of public health for the region in which the establishment is located. The worker is not required to pay anything for the certificate. Reassignment The worker must give the certificate to her employer, which constitutes a request for modification of her workstation or reassignment to other duties. While she is reassigned, the worker is entitled to the same wages and benefits as before. If the wages attached to the new position are different from those paid in her usual job, the employer may request reimbursement from the CSST. The form for that purpose, entitled Soutien financier à l employeur lors de l affectation d une travailleuse enceinte ou qui allaite [available in French only], is available from the CSST s website at

4 Preventive withdrawal and indemnities If the employer cannot eliminate the hazards at source, or modify the worker s workstation or some of her tasks or immediately reassign her to other tasks that she could reasonably perform, the worker may stop working and will be paid indemnities. For the first five working days of her work stoppage, the employer must pay the worker her usual wages. For the next 14 full days, the employer must pay her 90% of her net wages for the days that she would normally have worked. The CSST will reimburse the employer that sum. Then, the CSST will pay 90% of the net income retained directly to the worker, up to the date of the reassignment or up to the fourth week prior to the worker s expected delivery date or until such time as she stops breast-feeding. The indemnities paid may not exceed the maximum yearly insurable earnings ($66,000 in 2012). The CSST may stop paying indemnities for a specific period (closing of the enterprise, lay-off, etc.) during which the work-related risks no longer exist. All decisions concerning entitlement to preventive withdrawals may be contested in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions.

5 To be noted Before requesting a reassignment, the worker must see a physician and ask him or her to complete the Preventive Withdrawal and Reassignment Certificate for a Pregnant or Breast-feeding Worker. The reassignment may consist of a modification of her workstation or of some of her tasks, or of assignment to new tasks. For the certificate to be valid, the physician who completes the certificate must consult the physician in charge of health services for the establishment in which she works or, failing that, the physician designated by the director of public health for the region in which the establishment is located. Once the certificate has been completed, the worker must give it to her employer. A worker who has exercised her right to reassignment or preventive withdrawal because she was pregnant, and who now wishes to exercise that right because she is breast-feeding, must submit a new request. While exercising her right to reassignment or preventive withdrawal, the worker retains all benefits related to the position she held before her reassignment or preventive withdrawal. In addition, the employer must reinstate her in her usual job when she returns to work. To be reimbursed the wages paid for the 14 full days following the first five working days of the work stoppage, the employer must complete the form entitled Demande de remboursement pour un retrait préventif de la travailleuse enceinte ou qui allaite [available in French only]. At any time, the employer may offer the worker a reassignment, which she must accept unless the new tasks pose a danger or she is unable to perform them.

6 Just one number for the CSST: CSST (2778) abitibitémiscamingue 33, rue Gamble O. Rouyn-Noranda (Québec) j9x 2r3 Fax: e étage 1185, rue Germain Val-d Or (Québec) j9p 6b1 Fax: bas-saint-laurent 180, rue des Gouverneurs Case postale 2180 Rimouski (Québec) g5l 7p3 Fax: capitale-nationale 425, rue du Pont Case postale 4900 Succ. Terminus Québec (Québec) g1k 7s6 Fax: chaudièreappalaches 835, rue de la Concorde Saint-Romuald (Québec) g6w 7p7 Fax: côte-nord Bureau , boul. Laure Sept-Îles (Québec) g4r 1y1 Fax: , boul. La Salle Baie-Comeau (Québec) g4z 2z4 Fax: estrie Place-Jacques-Cartier Bureau , rue King O. Sherbrooke (Québec) j1j 2c3 Fax: gaspésie îlesde-la-madeleine 163, boulevard de Gaspé Gaspé (Québec) g4x 2v1 Fax : , boul. Perron O. New Richmond (Québec) g0c 2b0 Fax: île-de-montréal 1, complexe Desjardins Tour Sud, 31 e étage Case postale 3 Succ. Place-Desjardins Montréal (Québec) h5b 1h1 Fax: lanaudière 432, rue de Lanaudière Case postale 550 Joliette (Québec) j6e 7n2 Fax: laurentides 6 e étage 85, rue de Martigny O. Saint-Jérôme (Québec) j7y 3r8 Fax: laval 1700, boul. Laval Laval (Québec) h7s 2g6 Fax: longueuil 25, boul. La Fayette Longueuil (Québec) j4k 5b7 Fax: mauricie et centre-du-québec Bureau , boul. des Forges Trois-Rivières (Québec) g8z 4j9 Fax: outaouais 15, rue Gamelin Case postale 1454 Gatineau (Québec) j8x 3y3 Fax: saguenay lac-saint-jean Place-du-Fjord 901, boul. Talbot Case postale 5400 Chicoutimi (Québec) g7h 6p8 Fax: Complexe du Parc 6 e étage 1209, boul. du Sacré-Cœur Case postale 47 Saint-Félicien (Québec) g8k 2p8 Fax: saint-jeansur-richelieu 145, boul. Saint-Joseph Case postale 100 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Québec) j3b 6z1 Fax: valleyfield 9, rue Nicholson Salaberry-de-Valleyfield (Québec) j6t 4m4 Fax: yamaska 2710, rue Bachand Saint-Hyacinthe (Québec) j2s 8b6 Fax: Bureau , place Charles- De Montmagny Sorel-Tracy (Québec) j3p 7e3 Fax: DC A ( )