In 1994, Hazards advised union reps to prepare for new legal rights due to take effect in the UK thanks to the European pregnant workers directive (Hazards 46).  The Hazards factsheet trailed what would become the expectant and new mother safety provisions in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Hazards provided a comprehensive list of the hazards that might affect a working mum-to-be or new mum, from stress, to chemicals, ergonomic risks, vibration, passive smoking, night work, standing, sedentary work, work at heights or in adverse environments, radiation, violence and infections.

But 20 years after the law came into effect, the TUC and Maternity Action have warned that many bosses still don’t know what they should be doing or are ignoring their clear legal responsibilities to protect new and expectant mothers. The groups point to a survey by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) that found two in five (41 per cent) expectant mothers felt there was a risk to their health or welfare at work. 

Managing pregnancy and maternity in the workplace, the report of a 2018 EHRC study, found: “One in 25 mothers (4 per cent) left their jobs because of risks not being tackled.”

The TUC/Maternity Action guide comments: “According to the EHRC, expectant mothers in workplaces that did not recognise a trade union were more likely to leave their job due to risks not being tackled than in unionised workplaces. In workplaces that recognised unions, employers were more aware of the employees’ rights and had more transparent policies.”

The guide suggests ways bosses can keep their pregnant staff safe and sets out what employers need to do when a new mum returns to work, and how bosses can support staff with breastfeeding and expressing milk. 

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Bosses need to do far more to ensure expectant or new mums are safe at work. Too many are ignoring their legal duty to remove risks from the workplace.”

Rosalind Bragg, director of Maternity Action, added: “Union reps have an important role in holding employers to account and ensuring that pregnant women are protected from workplace hazards.”

Assess early, assess often

The TUC/Maternity Action guide says focusing on the health and safety issues related to pregnancy “is not about trying to wrap all pregnant women in cotton wool.  “It is about accepting that, in some workplaces, there are very real and potentially serious risks that need to be assessed and controlled.”

The guide advises that for most women who are at work when pregnant, the risks to them, the fetus or their baby are relatively low and they can continue to work without any problems. But each pregnancy is different, as is every workplace. “The most important thing is to ensure that the employer consider the risks and takes any necessary action to control them and that the pregnant woman is involved in the process and any concerns are met,” it says.

The Health and Safety at Work Act places a general duty of care on all employers, and this includes addressing the specific needs of new and expectant mothers. The law covering pregnant women at work explicitly, as well as new mothers, is the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Regulation 16 requires that risk assessments cover any specific risks to females of childbearing age who could become pregnant, and any risks to new and expectant mothers.  

The Equality Act 2010 provides protection from discrimination for pregnant women and those on maternity leave.

The Workplace (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require employers to provide suitable rest facilities for both pregnant women and nursing mothers (regulation 25). “In practice the main requirement is to do a risk assessment and then manage the risk,” the guide notes.

“Many employers wait until the worker notifies them that they are pregnant before doing anything. This is wrong. Any employer who has women of childbearing age should ensure that their general risk assessment includes any risks to new and expectant mothers.

“This is because many women do not know they are expecting until relatively late in the pregnancy, and even if they do, there are many reasons why they may choose not to disclose their pregnancy to their employer until quite late in the pregnancy.”

It adds if the general risk assessment reveals any risk, it must be removed or reduced “as far as is reasonably practicable”. Once an employer is notified that a worker is pregnant, they should revisit the original risk assessment. The risk assessment should be reviewed as the pregnancy progresses.

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Expecting more

For two decades employers have had an explicit legal duty to ensure the health and safety at work of expectant mothers. But two in five mums-to-be still believe they have been placed at risk during their pregnancy. Hazards spells out their legal rights and how to get them.

Cartoons: Andy Vine