Objective
The objective of this Directive is to protect the health and safety of women in the workplace when pregnant or after they have recently given birth and women who are breastfeeding.
Contents
Under the Directive, a set of guidelines detail the assessment of the chemical, physical and biological agents and industrial processes considered dangerous for the health and safety of pregnant women or women who have just given birth and are breast feeding.
The Directive also includes provisions for physical movements and postures, mental and physical fatigue and other types of physical and mental stress.
Pregnant and breastfeeding workers may under no circumstances be obliged to perform duties for which the assessment has revealed a risk of exposure to agents, which would jeopardize their safety or health. Those agents and working conditions are defined in Annex II of the Directive.
Member States shall ensure that pregnant workers are not obliged to work in night shifts when medically indicated (subject to submission of a medical certificate).
Employers or the health and safety service will use these guidelines as a basis for a risk evaluation for all activities that pregnant or breast feeding workers may undergo and must decide what measures should be taken to avoid these risks. Workers should be notified of the results and of measures to be taken which can be adjustment of working conditions, transfer to another job or granting of leave.
The Directive grants maternity leave for the duration of 14 weeks of which 2 weeks must occur before birth.
Women must not be dismissed from work because of their pregnancy and maternity for the period from the beginning of their pregnancy to the end of the period of leave from work.
Annexes
Annex I - Non exhaustive list of agents and working conditions referred to in Art.4 of the directive (assessment and information)
Annex II - Non exhaustive list of agents and working conditions referred to in Art.6 of the directive (cases in which exposure is prohibited)
Read the full text of the consolidated version of the Directive (including later amendments)
Read the full text of the original Directive (without later amendments)
National measures implementing this Directive
Further information on this topic
See also further documents of the European Commission on that topic: