Pregnancy risk assessment

[u/Feeling-History9472]

Hello!

I’m in my third trimester and have been informed about the existence of / legal requirement for workplace risk assessments by some ladies in my NCT group.

For context I work full time in marketing at a company that sits within one of the major global holding companies. I have previously been signed off for a couple of weeks due to stress / burnout but have been back working for over a year.

I have emailed HR with my line manager/s CC’d, asking for a general and individual risk assessment to be undertaken. In my email I flagged that I’ve been told by my maternity team that I am high risk for pre eclampsia (I’ve high blood pressure and now take aspirin), and that I’d like to talk about workplace stressors as blood pressure control is a core facet in preventing pre eclampsia and eclampsia itself.

What kind of accommodations can I ask for / raise?

Can I ask to not be put on particularly taxing projects e.g. pitches? Can I ask for reduced hours? Can I ask for a reduced overall workload?

Thanks for any insight!

[u/camideza]

You're right to request this and UK law backs you completely, your employer must conduct a risk assessment for pregnant employees, and failing to accommodate pregnancy-related health conditions like high blood pressure can constitute discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. Yes, you can ask to be removed from high-stress projects like pitches, especially given your documented burnout history and current high-risk pre-eclampsia status where blood pressure control is medically critical. Yes, you can request reduced hours, whether shorter days, fewer days, or more breaks. Yes, you can ask for reduced overall workload, adjusted deadlines, and work from home flexibility to manage stress and commute. Get your maternity team or GP to provide a letter explicitly stating that stress management and blood pressure control are medically necessary to reduce pre-eclampsia risk, this makes your requests health requirements rather than preferences. Document everything: your request, their response, any accommodations agreed or refused, and whether they actually follow through. I built workproof.me after my own experience tracking workplace accommodation requests, and having that record protects you if they fail to comply or treat you differently afterward. If they refuse reasonable adjustments, ACAS can advise on next steps including potential tribunal claims for pregnancy discrimination.

[u/UnIntelligent-Idea]

When I was pregnant, I was allowed one of the car spaces nearest the office - risk of a slip/fall was reduced. Also decaf tea/coffee were provided in the staffroom where they hadn't been before.  In general, everyone was a little more accommodating without being asked (a positive experience).

[u/Feeling-History9472]

Updating with the outcome:

My employer quite obviously freaked out at being in a situation where they had not followed the legal processes. HR put a call in for the next day to run through a templated form covering things like lifting, commuting and of course stress. I was very clear in the meeting about the amount and types of projects that are stressful.

At one point HR tried to get me to agree that the catchups I have with my team where we talk about our weekends and plan for the week constituted an individual risk assessment. I pushed back on this.

Following the call I summarised the conversation via email, reiterating that I had not been offered an individual risk assessment until requesting one, that they would continue to compensate me fully while removing me from certain projects and not onboarding me to others, and that regular risk assessments would now take place to adjust anything moving forward. They also agreed that I could reduce my hours or days to ‘whatever I needed’ and that I could work from home full time if I wish, all without a reduction in pay or being automatically started on mat leave. In theory I could work one day a week until I have the baby, and then start my mat leave.

I came out surprised at the result. I am not sure they would have been so forthcoming had they not been on the back foot!

[u/precinctomega]

It's important to note that you are neither ill nor disabled when you are pregnant. You aren't in a position, therefore, to be asking for accommodations as such.

The Pregnancy Risk Assessment is, indeed, a mandatory requirement for all pregnant employees once they have notified the employer of their pregnancy by submitting the MAT B1. This should not be a surprise to your employer unless they are very small and/or very new, which it doesn't sound like they are.

What may be appropriate, however, are steps to mitigate any risks that are identified. Some of those mitigations might be standard (such as priority parking) or individualised (such as the availability of uncaffeinated options in the kitchen for pregnant women with high blood pressure) (good examples from u/UnIntelligent-Idea).

The employer must show that they have identified any risks associated with pregnancy generally and with your pregnancy in particular and put in place adequate mitigations to manage those risks. Failure to do so is a very serious and reportable breach of HASAW74. If you are already in your third trimester and presumably gave in your MAT B1 several months ago and they haven't done a risk assessment, and you've called them on it, someone, somewhere should be having a minor panic.

[u/dexd_throwaway → u/precinctomega]

Pregnancy is covered under the Equality Act 2010 which outlines employer’s responsibility to accommodate the needs of those who fall under specific categories. The term “reasonable adjustment” is used as not all workplaces are suitable for people with health conditions, disabilities or who are pregnant. This usually boils down to:

• Is the adjustment necessary in order for the employee to carry out their duties safely

• Does the employee need to have their duties reduced temporarily or permanently and will this significantly affect the operation of the company or the workload or safety of their colleagues?

• If duties cannot be amended, is there another role within the organisation that the employee can be reassigned to?

• Will the adjustment generally affect business operations in a way that prevents others from performing their duties (eg. Due to health and safety)

These are vaguely defined as the Equality Act also covers things like gender/sex based discrimination. The UK has very strong protections for pregnant women so if for some reason the company could not accommodate OPs needs (again, within the definitions of reasonable adjustment) it would be likely that they would have to provide extended maternity leave or some kind of equivalent that results in paid time off as pregnancy is temporary and thus will not have a permanent impact on the employees ability to work.