Advice for pregnant employees

This advice is for pregnant employees, but the link below should also be referred to by employers. The guidance will help employees discuss their roles with managers and / or occupational health teams, how best to ensure health and safety in the workplace.

If an employee is pregnant and they have let their employer know in writing of the pregnancy, their employer should carry out a risk assessment to follow the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSW) or the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000. This may involve obtaining advice from the occupational health department.

Information contained in the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19) in pregnancy should be used as the basis for a risk assessment.

See: https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-pregnancy/covid-19-virus-infection-and-pregnancy/

Pregnant women of any gestation should not be required to continue working if this is not supported by the risk assessment. Pregnant women are considered ‘clinically vulnerable’ or in some cases ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ to coronavirus (COVID-19), and therefore require special consideration as contained in government guides for different industries.

For the full guidance see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-pregnant-employees/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-pregnant-employees