1. Expectant mothers

It is normal for a woman not to announce she is going to have a baby until she is past the 12-week mark, so you might not find out an employee is pregnant until she is almost a third of the way through her pregnancy.

Whenever you are informed, the first thing you must do (after offering your congratulations, of course) is to liaise with HR and look at the work duties your expectant mother has to carry out.  Complete a New and Expectant Mothers Risk Assessment, considering the following points as you do:

• Do any of the expectant mother’s work duties present any risk to her or to her unborn child?
  • If they do, she must immediately cease such tasks and, together with HR, you must work out how to make the tasks safer or move her to different duties.
• Has she been to her doctor?
  • Have any complications or causes for concern been raised? If yes, you must incorporate these concerns into the risk assessment and identify the control measures to be put in place.
• Does the expectant mother sit at a desk or other workstation?
  • She must complete a DSE Assessment as soon as possible and every following three months until the child is 12 months old.
  • Increase the frequency of these assessments if any complications arise during the pregnancy or after the birth of the child.
• Is she stressed or anxious?
• Schedule regular meetings so that you can record her progress and any issues that might arise.

You should keep in touch with expectant mothers on an informal basis too – don’t just hold formal, scheduled meetings.  A quick chat can be very reassuring and the employee will know that she can talk to you at any time about any worries or concerns she may have.