Do expectant mothers have special protection?

Yes. In December 1999, the Management Regs (The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations) were updated to include new protection for new and expectant mothers.

• Where there are women of childbearing age in the workforce, employers must ensure that any risk assessment takes account of how hazards might affect their health and safety (Regulation 16).
• A Labour Research Department guide points out that this includes exposure to any chemical agent, work process or working situation that might damage the woman or her baby. Employers must take action to control or remove the hazard, or (for a pregnant employee) 'suspend the employee on full pay until the beginning of maternity leave'.

Not all the special protections available to pregnant women currently extend to agency workers. This will change for qualifying agency workers (those with at least twelve weeks’ qualifying service) in October 2011, once the Agency Workers Regulations become law.