Pregnant Employees at Work in Ireland: Health and Safety Risk Assessment Duties

Pregnant employees health and safety in Ireland comes down to one practical duty: once an employee tells you she is pregnant, has recently given birth or is breastfeeding, you assess the risks to her specifically and act on what you find. This guide explains, from Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and Citizens Information material, what that assessment involves, what follows if a risk cannot be removed, and what employers in Dublin and elsewhere should keep on record.

It is general information, not legal advice. For the wider picture of employer training duties, see our guide to HSA training requirements in Ireland. This guide relies on two HSA documents (a Workplace Health Toolkit and a risk assessment template, both dated September 2023), plus Citizens Information.

The legal framework in outline

The HSA's pregnancy risk assessment template cites Part 6, Chapter 2 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 as the rules on the protection of pregnant, post-natal and breastfeeding employees. An HSA background document on the Regulations says the chapter and Schedule 8 cover risk assessment, protective or preventive measures, night work and information, and that they transpose the occupational safety and health provisions of Council Directive 92/85/EEC and replaced the 2000 Pregnant Employees Regulations. This guide does not quote regulation numbers or wording; check the regulation text itself on the Irish Statute Book.

The HSA template defines the three groups as follows:

• a pregnant employee is an employee who is pregnant;
• a post-natal employee is one who gave birth no more than 14 weeks before a material date;
• a breastfeeding employee is one who gave birth no more than 26 weeks earlier and is breastfeeding.

The template adds that a risk assessment under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 still applies to employees breastfeeding beyond 26 weeks, and that the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 covers breastfeeding for up to 104 weeks after birth, which it describes as outside the HSA's remit.

When does the duty start?

The HSA Toolkit says the regulations apply once the employee tells her employer she is pregnant, has recently given birth or is breastfeeding, and provides an appropriate medical certificate. It encourages employers to promote early notification, since the earliest stages of pregnancy are the most critical. The template describes the trigger as the employer being informed of a pregnancy.

A practical approach: tell staff in your handbook and induction who to notify and what happens next, so that the assessment begins as soon as someone chooses to tell you. This is our suggestion, not a requirement.

Doing the individual risk assessment

According to the template, on being informed of a pregnancy the employer should conduct an assessment to decide whether any action is needed to protect against hazards to the employee's health or that of her developing child, and should review existing workplace risk assessments while doing so. The template says no prescribed form is required and that it is an aid. The Toolkit says the pregnancy should also be considered in the safety statement and points to a template on the HSA's BeSMART website.

The template's hazard analysis is a useful checklist. It covers:

• physical hazards, including shocks, vibration, noise, radiation, manual handling, extreme temperatures, work at height, confined spaces and pressurised chambers;
• biological agents;
• night work;
• chemical hazards, with labels and safety data sheets to be checked;
• ergonomics and posture, including prolonged sitting or standing, display screen use and remote working assessment;
• psychosocial hazards such as exposure to aggressive or violent persons and work-related stressors;
• welfare provision, including rest facilities and accessible toilets.

Office and finance roles

If your team is mostly desk-based, the following points from the HSA may be relevant. The HSA Toolkit says pregnant employees do not need to stop display screen work, but that a remote working assessment is required for remote workers. The template's ergonomics section lists prolonged sitting or standing, workstation assessment, task variation, lighting and lone working. These are prompts rather than a fixed rule set, and the assessment has to be about the individual and her actual duties.

If the assessment finds a risk

The HSA Toolkit sets out a sequence. Where a risk cannot be removed by protective or preventive measures, the employer adjusts working conditions, hours or both. If adjustment is not possible, the employer provides suitable alternative work. If suitable work is not available, the Toolkit says the employer should facilitate granting health and safety leave under section 18 of the Maternity Protection Act 1994, or extend the period of maternity leave.

Citizens Information (maternity leave page, last edited 23 September 2026) puts it in similar terms: the employer should either remove any risks or move the employee away from them, and if neither is possible the employee should be given health and safety leave. The Citizens Information health and safety work page (last edited 25 August 2022) adds that the same sequence applies after the birth for post-natal and breastfeeding employees.

Health and safety leave: pay and who covers what

Citizens Information's Health and Safety Benefit page (last edited 7 October 2026) says the employer pays normal wages for the first 21 days (three weeks) of leave, after which the Department of Social Protection pays Health and Safety Benefit, depending on the employee's PRSI contributions. It also says the employee is treated as still employed during leave, so annual leave continues to accrue. For a pregnant employee, the leave runs until she becomes entitled to Maternity Benefit. The page also sets out maximum periods for breastfeeding employees (26 weeks from the birth) and for night workers who have recently given birth (up to 14 weeks).

We do not repeat the benefit rates here because they change; use the current Citizens Information page on the day you need them.

Night work

According to the HSA Toolkit, restrictions apply during pregnancy and the 14 weeks after childbirth. If an employee regularly works at least three hours between 11pm and 6am, or at least 25 per cent of her monthly working time falls in that window, and a medical certificate says night work may harm her health, she must be given alternative daytime work. Citizens Information says that where alternative work is not available, health and safety leave applies.

Rest, breastfeeding and related entitlements

The HSA Toolkit says employers must provide appropriate conditions where pregnant, post-natal and breastfeeding employees can lie down to rest. It also says employers are required to provide breastfeeding facilities where this does not give rise to more than a nominal cost, and that where facilities are not provided there is a reduction in working hours, on full pay, to facilitate breastfeeding. Citizens Information says employees can take paid time off for pregnancy-related medical visits (with a doctor's note and two weeks' notice) and for one set of antenatal classes, with the last three classes excluded.

Citizens Information also states that employees can take time off or work fewer hours without loss of pay for breastfeeding for up to two years (104 weeks) after the birth. The wider leave picture continues beyond maternity leave; our guide to parental leave in Ireland covers the leave that can follow.

Records and review

The HSA template includes a records section with corrective actions, signatures and first, second and third review dates. A practical approach, which is our suggestion rather than a legal requirement, is to:

• keep the signed assessment on the employee's confidential file;
• diarise reviews as the pregnancy progresses and when duties or hours change;
• record every adjustment offered and the employee's response;
• revisit the assessment if the employee returns from leave and is breastfeeding.

Dismissal and complaints

Citizens Information says maternity legislation protects an employee from unfair dismissal and that disputes over maternity rights can be brought to the Workplace Relations Commission within six months, extendable by up to a further six months for reasonable cause. Take advice before taking any step that affects a pregnant employee's role.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Does an employer have to carry out a separate risk assessment for a pregnant employee?

The HSA template describes an individual assessment once the employer is informed of the pregnancy, and Citizens Information says employers should carry out separate risk assessments for pregnant employees.

Is there a prescribed form for the assessment?

The HSA template says no prescribed form is required and presents its template as an aid.

How long does the employer pay during health and safety leave?

Citizens Information says normal wages for the first 21 days, after which Health and Safety Benefit may be payable by the Department of Social Protection, depending on PRSI contributions.

Does the employee have to give a medical certificate?

The HSA Toolkit says the regulations apply once the employee informs the employer and provides an appropriate medical certificate.

Check the HSA and Citizens Information pages for the latest guidance before acting on a specific case.