What will the pregnancy risk assessment my employer conducts look at?
Depending on your health and the stage you?re at in your pregnancy, you could be exposed to different physical, biological and chemical agents, working conditions and processes.
Your employer is legally responsible for protecting your health and safety while you?re pregnant, and if they do not, it is automatically considered to be sex discrimination. This is another reason why it’s important to tell your employer that you’re pregnant.
Your specific risk assessment itself will look at:
- Standing or sitting for long periods
- Workstations and posture
- Lifting or carrying of heavy loads
- Long working hours
- Work-related stress ? if the risk assessment identifies stress as a possible risk, you employer should remove this risk, where possible. One example of doing this is to reduce working hours so that you are not travelling to and from work during rush hour.
- Exposure to lead
- Exposure to radioactive material
- Exposure to infectious diseases
- Threat of violence in the workplace
- Excessively noisy workplaces
This specific risk assessment should be regularly monitored to look at possible risks at different stages of your pregnancy. If you have been given any advice from your doctor or midwife, you need to let your employer know this during your specific risk assessment so that your employer can adjust your working conditions accordingly.
Useful links
Health & Safety Executive
Maternity Alliance