Hopeful I think you have asked a very good question, I am surprised you haven't had a reply yet, so here is my penny's worth. IMHO I would think that the company car is a part of her terms and conditions of employment, even though the car contract lasts for 3 years I honestly think that it should be changed to a four door. Your employee has told you she is suffering from back pain, so in reality forget the fact she has just had a baby, what action would you take if another employee asked for a different car because of a health issue? IMO it is reasonably practicable to change the car, potentially she could be off sick for quite a while and a claim could be landing on your doorstop very quickly. Now that should draw a few responses from the experts!

Sorry Bob I have to disagree with you on this, it is a H&S matter as the employee is concerned for her back, if she complained about her chair in work it would be covered under DSE regs, what's the difference?

No this is a moan about her employer not allowing her to get a new car so she can get a child seat in better. If she has a back problem she needs to address this direct with her employer not use it as an excuse for a better company car. She is on maternity leave so her back is not preventing her working and is nothing to do with her employer (yet). This is an attempt to get the company to give her a car that suits her domestic situation not one required by her employment.

Hopeful, your answer is no, you cannot help. The employ entered into a contract with a third party. She can if she wishes negotiate her way out of that contract at her own expense, otherwise she can install the baby carrier in the front seat, paying someone to disable the airbags if necessary.

You are quite correct Ron. It is up to her employer as to what help they can give and the ball is very much in her court. The employer has provided a car suitable for her to fulfill her contract of employment. Her back problem is a total unrelated issue to her company car. It could be as a result of having the baby or possibly from an injury at work but these are totally outside the use of a company car.

Hopeful - I'll swap her a very nice Astra for her 2 seater convertible!

Probably not, but I'll still swap it! ;-)

I agree with Bob.... the putting the baby in the car is an out of work . out of hour task and any problem or injury sustained whilst doing this out of hours / out of work task cannot be judged as a work related issue....The car is provided for her to conduct her normal daily work duties... not ferrying her baby around....Common sense dictates that if i broke my leg playing sunday morning football.... i cudnt blame my company for not providing me with the right shinpads..... the worlds gone mad !

Though slightly off topic, she is entitled to keep her car during maternity leave as it is percieved as a benefit. A test case compared maternity leave with long term sickness (don't shoot the messenger!) and decided that the employer would not de-car an employee with a long term sickness so they should treat maternity leave in the same way. Back on topic, not a work issue unless carrying babies around is part of her job. It would be down to good will or possibly a car swap

hopeful, As Ray said this is not a health and safety matter as the lady concerned is having problems that are nothing to do with work (including the back problems) and whether or not she is entitled to change the car will depend purely on her contract of employment and the company's policies. One of my Employment Law colleagues has raised one Employment Law issue however. Again subject to the contract of employment conditions and company policies it may be held to be sex discrimination to require the lady to put the baby in and take it out of the back seat, thereby suffering back problems. The basis of the discrimination will be on the basis that if she was not a woman she would not have the baby and so she would not have these problems. I am not saying that the lady would succeed in any claim, but it is an issue for your employer to consider and it would need to take Employment Law advice. I hope this helps. Regards. DJ

Even so, the employer is not obliged to supply a vehicle suitable for this. The vehicle only needs to be fit for the employee to do the job.

Apologies if I caused offence, that certainly wasn't my intention - I was merely providing a counter point to the suggestion made, to open up the discussion. If I was making a point, it was that what this lady is doing with the car (putting the baby seat and baby in, and transporting it) is no different to what a man would be doing. She may have an argument that the firm isn't enacting family-friendly policies, but if she does then so would a man who'd recently become a father. Yes, but only in the sense that a man could say the firm discriminates against a man who's recently become a father. There may be discrimination (although I don't think there is), but it isn't on the grounds of gender. The only way I can see that the "men don't have babies" argument would be relevant is if the car's driving position wasn't capable of being adjusted sufficiently to accommodate a pregnant driver. To clarify my viewpoint further, consider the idea that the company *allows* her to use the car for personal use, e.g. to transport her family. It doesn't *require* her to use it for that purpose.