I have an member of staff who wants to work past her due date, and whilst my understanding is there is no reason legally why she cant, I would be interested to know if people have any views on this? The work is office based (low risk) and the employee intends to have her suitcase by her desk ready to go. Many thanks in anticipation DJ

I would let her decide, but be prepared to take it one day at a time. Lots of things can change in pregnancy and you need to be prepared for whatever eventuality. I had a colleague who wanted to do the same with her first baby. Baby had other ideas and came a month early!

What! work past her due date, no way! she should be sitting with her feet up in a nice comfortable room, work past her due date when she is obviously ill. Never heard the likes.

You also need to look at the possibility of her getting to the Hospital on time and the risk in having the Baby in the workplace or on route to hospital. Are you prepared for this? You also need to remember that their are dangers to the baby should there be complications, and delays in getting to the Hospital on time. (Women have contractions that start days before birth, surely no one wants to go to work when this happens??) Although as you say there is no legal requirement for her not to work passed her due date, it really is upto the company to thank her for her efforts, but Now its time that she stays at home, rests and makes sure she gets to the hospital on time. Have you thought if anything went wrong with her or the baby who would be at fault?? and would she make a claim??

With respect, wrong. Believe me, if she was having contractions, she won't be thinking of coming in. It's entirely up to the employee whether she sees fit to continue working, with the usual proviso that the RA should be reviewed to take into account different hazards and risks as the pregnancy progresses. Unless her workplace is 100 miles from the nearest hospital, it would be a brave employer that tells her she is not capable of continuing to work. As for making a claim - for what?

It is not up to the company to make any risk assessments or arrangements for her to get to hospital, they will only have to look at workload etc. We have an ambulance service for this, the company cannot be sued if she goes into labour or anything else unless the company were at fault in someway. All that is needed is s new and expectant mother assessment to ensure that she is safe in work. With some of the nonsense on here it should of been left until Friday.

Myth. No requirement. Never was. From HSE: Your workplace risk assessment should already consider any risks to female employees of childbearing age and, in particular, risks to new and expectant mothers (for example, from working conditions, or the use of physical, chemical or biological agents). Any risks identified must be included and managed as part of the general workplace risk assessment. If you are notified that an employee is pregnant, breastfeeding or has given birth within the last six months, you should check your workplace risk assessment to see if any new risks have arisen. If risks are identified during the pregnancy, in the first six months after birth or while the employee is still breastfeeding, you must take appropriate, sensible action to reduce, remove or control them. While it is a legal obligation for employers to regularly review general workplace risks, there is actually no legal requirement to conduct a specific, separate risk assessment for new and expectant mothers. However, if you choose to do so, this may help you decide if any additional action needs to be taken.

Pretty difficult to ensure you are meeting the potential needs of a pregnant employee with a generic blanket risk assessment. Especially when working in a business with a large number of employees. I have come across probably hundreds of expectant mothers at work over the years and most dont need much, if any additioanl support. However I have also come across some who do benefit from an individual assessment.