Pregnancy and maternity: Assess the risks to a pregnant employee
When to use this pregnancy and maternity flowchart
Use this pregnancy and maternity flowchart when an employee informs you that they are pregnant.
Employers have specific risk assessment duties in relation to pregnant employees. To ensure that a pregnant employee is not exposed to a risk to their health or that of their unborn child, the employer may have to alter their duties, offer suitable alternative employment or suspend them.
Key steps
- Conduct a pregnancy risk assessment
- If the risk assessment has revealed a risk that cannot in itself be avoided or prevented, consider altering the employee's working conditions or hours of work
- If the risk cannot be avoided by altering the employee's working conditions or hours of work, offer the employee suitable alternative work, if available
- If there is no suitable alternative work available, suspend the employee and keep the suspension under review
