INTRODUCTION

Pregnancy in the workplace can pose challenges for organisations and managers. Under Irish legislation, additional health, safety and welfare obligations will apply once an employer has been notified of an employee’s pregnancy.  An employer should commit to successfully managing the health and safety aspects from the outset to protect the employee and also the business itself.

LEGISLATION

Under Irish legislation, namely the Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, employers have a legal obligation to identify hazards in the workplace and to assess the risk presented by any workplace hazards.  This process, including the documentation of risks in writing, is commonly known as risk assessment.

A risk assessment is done as part of the employer’s Safety Statement and