Pregnancy and occupational risk prevention
As soon as a woman gets pregnant, the baby’s health and well-being are her first concerns. But she should not stop working because of being in this state, if there is no risk for her or for her baby.
The occupational risk prevention awareness has led to the development of specific regulations for pregnant women, such as the adequacy of their job position or of the task they do. Companies must comply with this or improve the conditions according to their own protocols.
Occupational Risks Prevention for a pregnant woman
The Spanish Act on Occupational Risk Prevention requires special protection for people who, according to their circumstances, may be more sensitive to occupational risks. Article 25 states that the employer must pay special attention to those who, due to their biological status, are more sensitive to the risks they have in their job position at the company, for example pregnant women, women in breastfeeding period or people under 18 years, in addition to other people who, for any circumstance, need this special protection.
According to this regulation, the company is in charge of offering all the specific protection measures at the moment that the woman communicates her status, including the assumption of having to acquire new more suitable personal protective equipment for this specific period of time. If necessary, the company should even modify the job position, adapt it or make a change for the worker.
Work and pregnancy: the obligations of the company
Of course, it is assumed that the company must perform a mandatory assessment of the risks that workers have performing the tasks of their job. Within this evaluation, a specific report should be made for the people who are in the groups mentioned above. From there, the company can indicate which are the specific measures for protection and prevention provided for them.
In the case of pregnant women, the company must take into account if performing the job tasks may harm the development of the baby or may advance the birth and, according to the conclusions, adopt the necessary measures to avoid that risk. In case the conditions cannot be adapted, it will be necessary to study if the company can change the woman position in the same category, in a different category or even promote a suspension of contract due to the risk during pregnancy and the period of natural breastfeeding.
As we have seen, occupational risk prevention pays special attention to pregnant women and those who have children who are breastfeeding. It is important that the company does not overlook it.