Posted By Robert Randall My reading of the Management Regulations leads me to be of the firm opinion that if there are conditions that pose a risk to a pregnant employee the employer must either implement preventative and protective measures or alter her working conditions or hours of work or suspend her on full pay in accordance with the Employment Rights Act 1996. According to an extensive study by Jin Liang Zhu at the University of Aarhus in which his team examined data involving thousands of pregnant women in Denmark between 1997 and 2002, pregnant women who worked consistently on night shifts were 85% times more likely to suffer a miscarriage late in pregnancy, or have a stillbirth, compared to daytime workers. They compared the pregnancy outcomes of slightly less than 34,000 daytime workers with 8,075 shift workers and took other factors into account such as the woman's age, smoking habits and the physical demands of the job. Their conclusions were that overnight work was linked to an 85% higher risk of pregnancy loss compared with fixed daytime work. My question to all of the professionals out there is “Do you think that on the basis of this Danish study the pregnancy risk assessment should indicate that night shift work is an unacceptable risk for a the pregnant employee and her baby”. If, as I suspect, many of you agree with me that it is an unacceptable risk how would you deal with the employer who is determined not to give any concessions to his employee and is tacitly threatening her with the sack if she does not want to continue on the night shift. Rob R

Posted By timwright Hi My wife is currently pregnant & works regularly nightshift's at a care-home. I was pleased to find that her employers did undertake the required risk assessment & have reviewed it as her pregnancy has developed. They have also sort professional advice as to what they needed to do. I have also spoken to them initially, as one a concerned husband & two a Safety professional in case they wanted the benefit of my experience & advice as well. I was aware of the quoted statistics from the Danish study & indeed they are quite shocking. But I put another side to whether pregnant women should work at nights or not & whether it is unacceptable. I think that it is a decision for the pregnant mum to be, to decide once they are aware of the facts & have undertaken a risk assessment with their employer whether they should work at night or not. I also believe it depends on the demands of the work being done, the assistance & help of fellow employees & the resting periods that can be taken. These help in establishing what are the hazards & levels of risk the mum to be is exposed to. My wife was offered by her employer, day shifts & more help at night but refused them, as during the early stages of pregnancy her morning sickness was lasting most of the day. She has found her sickness stopped at night, so felt better able to work. She also finds in her job that the working demands are less than during the day shifts so she feels more able to cope with the workload. My wife recently changed back to day shifts, as her employer was concerned that if she fell sick at night they would have reduced cover to care for the residents - something I agree with. She has found it much more tiring & had to have some time off work to rest & recover from the extra workload that she has in caring for people during the day. She has now reduced her hours & will pack up work & take maternity leave at Christmas some 9 weeks before the baby is due. Thus resting and preparing for a new baby. My wife's experience may be different than other mums to be, but looking from the outside as a concerned father it has worked out better for her & she has remained in much better health than when she worked days. Whether working at night has increased her risk of having a late term miscarriage or still birth, i sincerely hope not. I think that her risks have been well managed & have adapted well as her pregnancy develops. Tim

Posted By Robert Randall Thanks for your comments. However the management regs cite Annexes I and II of Council Directive 92/85/EEC specifically and therefore includes physical tiredness as one of the conditions to be assessed. The employee is already suffering sleep deprivation as a result of disruption to her circadian rhythm and therefore according to the regs the employer MUST take action to change her hours or provide alternative work at the same rate of pay or suspend her on full pay. At least that is the way that I read it. Rob R

Posted By Simone Granger I don’t think there are any known risks per se but some individuals may be susceptible. The regs/ACoP make it clear that where a new or expectant mother works at night; and a certificate from a doctor/ midwife shows that it is necessary for her health or safety that she should not, then, if suitable work is not available at some other time, she must be suspended for as long as necessary (on full pay). So, I would suggest you have a discussion with the person concerned and suggest they may wish to speak with their doctor/midwife about it.