Maternity, paternity and adoption - an overview

Health and safety of new and expectant mothers

Employers have a legal duty to ensure that expectant or new mothers are safe at work.

You must carry out a health and safety risk assessment that covers all women of childbearing age, particularly those who:

• are pregnant
• have given birth in the last six months
• are breastfeeding

For more information on health and safety risk assessment, see our guide on risk assessment - an overview. If you identify a health risk, you must take steps to remove it eg by adjusting working conditions, working hours or offering another job. If this isn't possible, you must suspend the woman on full pay for as long as the risk remains.

You can read guidance on health and safety for new and expectant mothers at the HSE website.

Rest facilities

You're required by law to provide somewhere for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to rest. This should be a smoke-free area. It's also good practice to provide a private room for nursing mothers to express and store breast milk. Toilet facilities are not suitable.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• When an employee is pregnant
• Health and safety of new and expectant mothers
• Maternity pay
• Returning to work after maternity leave
• Paternity pay
• Adoption pay
• Maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• Parental leave
• Time off for dependants
• Family-friendly ways of working

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