Pregnancy at work guide a must-have for employers

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is supporting the launch of a new guide published by Personnel Today that aims to help HR manage pregnancy issues. Our One-Stop Guide to Managing Pregnancy at Work has been welcomed by the EOC, which has supplied the foreword for the guide to show its support.

Managing pregnancy at work presents genuine challenges for HR. Everything from health and safety, arranging maternity cover and paid leave to imple-menting flexible working and preventing discrimination need to be managed in the best possible way.

A lack of knowledge of maternity rights among managers can lead to disputes and mean employees suffer some form of pregnancy-related disadvantage at work.

This new guide provides a practical framework for best practice. It gives step-by-step guidance on everything HR needs to know to take a positive approach to managing pregnancy and improve return-to-work rates.

Caroline Slocock, chief executive of the EOC, says: “Information and understanding are the keys to successfully managing pregnancy and complying with maternity rights, which is why the EOC is pleased to see this guide. Maternity rights are complicated and there may be situations when the law needs to be looked at in more detail. However, this guide provides a framework for managing the majority of situations and takes us closer to the day when managers can share their employees’ joy about their pregnancy rather than fearing the impact on their organisation.”

The main sections of the guide include:

• Foreword by the EOC
  
• The business case
  
• Outline of the basics
  
• Planning for maternity leave
  
• Managing leave and planning the return
  
• Other leave entitlement
  
• Case studies

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The guide also includes a model letter, calendar, jargon buster and sources of information, including the contact details of several
key organisations.

To order your copy at a special introductory price, please call 01371 810433 or visit www.personneltoday.com/resources to link to order forms for this and other guides in Personnel Today’s Management Resources series. Other guides in the series include:

• One-Stop Guide to Absence Management
  
• One-Stop Guide to Managing Stress
  
• One-Stop Guide to New Equality Law
  
• One-Stop Guide to Employer Branding
  
• One-Stop Guide to Managing Reward
  
• One-Stop Guide to Information & Consultation at Work
  
• One-Stop Guide to Managing Disputes