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Posted By Roger Eaton
Has anyone got any info/standard form for carrying out a 'generic' RA on pregnant women please?
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Posted By Neal Robertson Roger, Theres one to download at www.borders-safety.com, to be used in conjunction with the task risk assessment. Feel free to download and adapt. Cheers
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Posted By BrianHoltMIOSHRSP We have a generic form. Would you like a copy? email me direct on b.holt@wiganmbc.gov.uk
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Posted By Bill Elliott
Am I missing something here? - How can the words generic and pregnant woman be linked. Any risk assessment of this nature would have to be individual surely. No two women are the same (height, weight, age, confinement date, capability etc. etc.)What value would a generic assessment actually have?
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Posted By Hilary Charlton
Thank you Bill!
Having been a pregnant woman twice myself in the past (I guess the other respondees can't claim that), each pregnant woman needs to be assessed on her own. I have carried out assessments on pregnant women on our site, one in the offices and one in the factory. We are talking totally different scenarios with totally different people and very varied risks.
For my own part, my risk assessment showed that I was prone to hypertension, high blood pressure and my workload needed to be decreased when I was pregnant because of my personal medical issues. This cannot be countered "generically".
I'm going to get off my soap box but ask you to remember that pregnant women are not like pregnant sheep, they do not stand around in the field eating grass all the time and then all spontaneously give birth in the spring! Give us a chance, we do different jobs, have different levels of pressure applied to us and have different bodies and, therefore, medical problems associated with this condition. Treat us like people, not sheep.
Thanks for listening!
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Posted By Jonathan Breeze
Hilary & Bill,
That's a valid & pertinent point you raise which employers (& we as their representatives completing risk assessments) must take on board.
Don't forget that you will also need to address your more specific risk assessments as well, e.g. Display Screens, COSHH , Manual Handling, etc...
Jon
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Posted By Robert M Edwards
Take care applying a one size fits all approach to specific issues like this one. It will not comply with current law on Health and safety risk for reasons like the ones already highlighted by Hillary. You also need to tread carefully in case the methods you use are discriminatory and any risk assessment should be tied in with your maternity policy in HR for the sake of completeness.
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Posted By Tyler
Also note that failure to complete a risk assessment has recently been judged to have been sexual discrimination.
Tyler
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Posted By Carl Wignell
You may find HSG 122, New and Expectant Mothers at Work, a useful guide.
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Posted By Ken Taylor
For the reasons that Hilary describes, I have only produced task-related risk assessments and expect local management to take individual employees into account in determining whether these are sufficient in any particular circumstance. This is particulary important in manual handling assessments where individuals can vary considerably.
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Posted By Robert M Edwards
The EAT case on this is Hardman-v-Mallon 2002 Reference EAT/0360/01. It established sex discrimination from consideration of the following law:-
Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999.
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
Employment Rights Act 1996
Pregnant Workers Directive 92/85/EEC
The main focus of the case is the treatment of 'a specific risk group' and the wording of the regulations infer the duty on an individual case basis not a generic assessment of risk. In this case it seems no risk assessment was carried out rather than an inadequate general one. Given the unique nature of this 'specific risk group' and the court's attitude of protection to pregnant women I advise that any risk assessment done is to the highest and most detailed standard available.
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Posted By Tyler
This is the case I was referring to although the details eluded me at the time of posting.
Thanks Robert. your postings in this forum are always informative and succint.
Tyler
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Posted By Jay Joshi
Brian refers to a generic form, not a generic risk assessment. Most large organisations use the standard formats for consistency--that does not mean that the risk assessments are also generic. A properly desined form enables better overall "risk management" of the expectant/nursing mother!
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