I am pregnant and my job is dangerous what can i do?
Short answer
In Quebec, a pregnant or breastfeeding worker can ask to be reassigned to duties that involve no danger, on presenting a certificate issued by the professional who is following her. If reassignment is not possible right away, she is entitled to preventive withdrawal — the CNESST's “For a Safe Maternity Experience” program.
In detail
The certificate is issued by the person who provides the pregnancy follow-up or the postnatal follow-up. It must be preceded by consultation with the physician in charge of health services at the establishment, or with the physician designated by the public health director for the territory where the workplace is located. Without that consultation, the certificate is not valid.
The right arises in three situations: the work involves physical dangers for the unborn child, dangers for the worker because of her pregnancy, or dangers for the child she is breastfeeding.
The request for reassignment is the starting point: preventive withdrawal comes into play only if reassignment is not possible. During the withdrawal, an income replacement indemnity is paid under the rules of the Act respecting occupational health and safety. The certificate is issued free of charge.
What to document
The certificate and its date, a precise description of your duties and of the risks, your request for reassignment to the employer and its date, the reply you received, the positions offered or refused, and the date the withdrawal actually began. A description of duties, written down before the request, is often the document people regret not having.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Act respecting occupational health and safety (CQLR, c. S-2.1) — Légis Québec
- CNESST — Certificate for the reassignment or preventive withdrawal of a pregnant or breastfeeding worker
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.