Pregnancy support

If someone in your team tells you they are pregnant, breastfeeding or have given birth within the last six months, you must carry out a workplace risk assessment as soon as reasonably possible, ideally within a week to protect your team member from any harm.

The risk assessment should involve a conversation with the employee to find out if there are any medical issues that may be affecting them such as high blood pressure, softening of ligaments and tendons that may result in injuries and increased fatigue. The assessment should consider if there are any risks to the employee within the workplace or whether any previously identified risks have changed.

If risks are identified during the risk assessment, you need to take appropriate, sensible action to reduce, remove or control them. This is a legal requirement and failing to meet your obligations in supporting your employee can have serious consequences. Please take steps to protect new and expectant mothers from hazards in the workplace such as lifting and manual handling, working conditions and driving duties. 

Suitable actions to remove or reduce risk will depend on the individual case, and the person’s work type/shift pattern but you may consider maintaining a regular shift pattern rather than changing hours of attendance regularly, adjusting duties to avoid heavy lifting, or considering less manual indoor work.

Once completed, the assessment should be documented clearly, shared with the employee and reviewed regularly (every three months as a minimum).

It is important to remember that everyone’s pregnancy will be different, and the conversation that you have with your employee will inform what adjustments are needed and how you can support them as their manager. If you are any doubt as to whether or what action is required, please call the People Case Advice team on 0345 604 2787.

There is a useful guide to completing a pregnancy risk assessment here.

A risk assessment template is provided to help you consider the risks and plan accordingly to minimise them.

You may also find the OH Assist notes on supporting pregnancy in the workplace useful.