This page explains what you and your employer should do to ensure you and your child are healthy and safe.
There is separate advice for employers on their legal duties to protect you at work. This includes a video explaining what they are required to do.
This guidance applies to all pregnant workers and new mothers, including some transgender men, non-binary people and people with variants in sex characteristics, or who are intersex.
Your employer cannot dismiss you or treat you less favourably because you are a pregnant worker or new mother. If they do it may amount to unlawful discrimination.
Informing your employer
You should inform your employer in writing when you:
- are pregnant
- have given birth in the last 6 months, or
- are breastfeeding
Your employer has to adjust your working conditions but only when you have told them.
They can ask you to provide a certificate from your doctor or midwife to confirm you are pregnant. However, they must allow a reasonable amount of time for you to complete all necessary medical tests.
Your employer must take account of medical advice provided by your doctor or midwife. This might mean making adjustments to your working conditions or hours, for example if:
- you have any pregnancy-related medical conditions
- your doctor has said you should not work nights
Your individual risk assessment
Your employer should already have assessed any potential risks to women of a childbearing age as part of their general risk assessment process.
They must then carry out a more specific individual risk assessment when you tell them you are pregnant, given birth in the last 6 months or breastfeeding.
Actions your employer should take to protect you
Your employer must reduce, remove or control any risk they identify that could harm you or your child during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
They must also let you know about any safety measures they have put in place so you can continue to work safely. They might discuss this with you directly or with your safety representative (if you have one).
You can find information about common risks to pregnant workers or new mothers. These include:
- standing or sitting for long periods
- long working hours
- work-related stress
- temperature
- noise
If your employer identifies a significant risk to you or your child
If they identify a risk that could cause harm to you or your child, they must firstly decide if they can control it.
- If the risk cannot be controlled or removed, they should adjust your working conditions or hours
If that is not possible:
- you should be offered suitable alternative work on the same terms and conditions, including pay
If that is not possible:
- your employer must suspend you on full pay for as long as necessary to protect you and your child
Reviewing any changes
Your employer must review and update your individual risk assessment:
- as your pregnancy progresses, or
- if there are any changes to your work or your workplace
Regular discussions with your employer (and safety representative if you have one) are important. This is because the risk of harm to you and your unborn child may increase at different stages of your pregnancy.
As the pregnancy progresses, it may affect your:
- dexterity
- agility
- coordination
- speed of movement
- reach
Raising your own safety concerns
You are entitled to raise any concern about your health and safety at work, and that of your child, with your employer and they are required to assess it.
They are ultimately responsible for workplace safety, but you also have responsibility for your own safety.
If you have raised safety concerns and believe your employer has failed to take appropriate action, you can:
- ask them to look at the issue again
- speak to a trade union or safety representative if you have one, or
- contact HSE to find advice on how you can ask HSE to investigate and what happens next
Rest and breastfeeding in the workplace
Before you return to work after maternity leave, you should send your employer written notification that you are breastfeeding. This is so your employer can ensure you return to a healthy, safe, and suitable environment.
Your employer must provide a suitable area where you can rest or breastfeed. It should:
- include somewhere to lie down if necessary
- be hygienic and private so you can express milk if you choose to – toilets are not a suitable or hygienic place for this
- include somewhere to store your milk, for example a fridge
More advice about your rights
There is more information on your rights at work as a pregnant worker or new mother.