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ARTICLE · 15 SEPTEMBER 2010

Maternity Rights And Wrongs

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The Pregnant Workers Directive is implemented in Great Britain by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Employment Rights Act 1996.

United KingdomEmployment and HR
Julia Mingay
Julia Mingay
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Risk assessments for pregnant workers

The Pregnant Workers Directive is implemented in Great Britain by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Employment Rights Act 1996. These provide that where a risk to a pregnant employee has been identified at work, the employer must:

  • alter her working conditions or hours of work;
  • if that is not reasonable, or would not avoid the risk, offer suitable alternative work; or
  • if that is not available, or it is reasonable for the employee to refuse it, suspend the employee ('maternity suspension').

Whilst it may be prudent to carry out a risk assessment for all pregnant workers, recent cases (Madarassy v Nomura plc and O'Neill v Buckinghamshire County Council) have confirmed that this is a legal requirement only where:

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