The RA Legislation provides the list of jobs considered as hard and harmful and prohibits involvement of pregnant women; women who take care of a child under one year of age shall not be engaged in a job with dangerous factors and harmful conditions, which may have a negative impact.
The RA Labor Code clearly provides regulation of maternity protection in the workplace.
Article 258 of the RA Labor Code provides that In compliance with the list of hazardous conditions of work, as well as working environment risk assessment results, the employer must establish the nature and duration of potential effect to safety and health of pregnant women and women who take care of a child under one year of age. Upon assessment of the potential impact, the employer must undertake temporary measures to ensure the elimination of the above risk of dangerous factors.
Where the elimination of dangerous factors is impossible, the employer shall take measures to improve the working conditions so that the exposure of pregnant women, women who have recently given birth to risks is avoided. If it becomes impossible to eliminate such affect in the result of the improvement of working conditions, the employer must transfer the woman (upon her consent) to another job in the organization. Where such opportunity is absent the woman is provided a paid leave prior to the providing a pregnancy and maternity leave.
Where a pregnant woman, woman taking care of a child under one year of age has to attend medical examinations, the employer must release her from work preserving her average wage, which is calculated on the basis of the amount of average hourly wage.
Apart from general break to rest and to eat, breast‐feeding woman shall be given at least every three hours at least 30 minute breaks to breastfeed. At the woman’s request, the breaks for breast‐feeding may be joined or added to the general break or transfer at the end of the working day, shortening the working day accordingly. Payment for these breaks to breast‐feed shall be calculated according to the average daily pay of the employee.
