Pregnant cabin crew...

[Katie]

what happens when a stewardess gets pregnant?

Would she be transfered to ground duties and what sort of thing would she be doing on the ground? After maternity leave do they get an option to go part-time?

Thanks

[Iguanahead]

Katie it depends which airline you work for.
I am ex-Qantas long haul. I was on maternity leave when they offered voluntary redundancy payouts this year, so I took it and ran. Fantastic job but after 13 years and a baby it was time to say goodbye.
In long haul you are only allowed to fly a total of 16 weeks during your pregnancy ( in short haul I think it is 28 weeks ). It gets tricky as you might count it from week 1 of the pregnancy or if you have been on leave and are already say 8 weeks when you come back you can then fly a further 16 weeks. Confusing I know.:rolleyes:
You are not guaranteed a job on the ground when they stop you flying. If there isn't one available you have to take the maternity leave from 16 weeks. I was lucky and managed to get a job in the office from 12 weeks and worked until 34 weeks. You get 12 months unpaid maternity leave after which you have to come back to flying. You can extend with long service leave and annual leave, and if you don't have any you can apply for nonpaid leave with a doctors certificate. Mind you the way things change in QF this could be all different by now from last year.
Yes you can choose to put your name down for part time or short haul but the list is long and you would have to have your name down years ago just to get a look-in. Talk about long term planning.
I hope this helps you.
:D

[kbf1]

Katie I see you are from the UK and the replies are Auz based where the laws on employment may be different (not to say company poilicies).

The 2 laws which govern the issue of maternity leave in any circumstance are the 1971 Health & Safety at Work Act (and subsequent regulations, the last being issued in 1998) and the 1987(??) Employment Relations Act.

The H&S requirements are such that the employer must take all reasonable care to ensure that a woman who is pregnant must not be exposed to any work which may increase risk of miscarriage. Pushing a heavy trolley may be one such risk. Each airline (or employer) must undertake a risk assessment of the tasks in each job and take action to minimise these risks. Some airlines may assign pregnant FAs to lighter airborne duties to keep them flying longer. Some may offer temporary re-assignment.

Employment law mandates that any woman who is temporarily transferred before maternity leave must do so on the same pay and conditions (less duty allowances) and must be offered a return to her prior post on return from maternity leave. There are then a whole number of regulations about when and for how long maternity leave is offered, and this will be regulated by company policy.

[moosey]

You are supposed to ground yourself as soon as you find out you are pregnant. However I was 3 months gone before I knew and was still flying!!! Worked on the ground and earnt my basic salary plus a daily rate to compensate for lack of allowances. This was a new thing agreed by the unions which was very nice.
Went back on a temp 50% contract and then got offered perm contract. It is great as you get to have an undisturbed bath and you get to shop without a buggy!!
Would thoroughly recommend going back to work after having a baby. It is the best job for a mother.
Good Luck!!

[jamieleggett]

Oops! i didnt mean to post this!! sorry!

x:D