Tarmac designs specialist protective clothing for expectant mum workers

A British building materials company has attempted to solve the lack of sufficient maternity workwear for expectant mums in workforces up and down the country with the development of specialist protective clothing.

Tarmac which is responsible for the personal protective equipment (PPE) says the clothing is specially designed for pregnant women and is fully compliant with British safety standards

It comes after a Trades Union Congress (TUC) industry report on PPE and pregnant women found that half of the respondents had been forced to cut back on their normal duties or change roles due to suitable maternity PPE not being available.

The Personal protective equipment and women report published back in 2017 was based on 2,655 responses to a TUC survey and 3,086 responses to a joint survey carried out by the Prospect and the Women’s Engineering Society.

It called on employers to avoid suppliers who did not provide a range of suitable sizes and ensure any company they worked with provided the same range of sizes for women as they did for men.

Commenting, Tarmac’s senior vice president, Martin Riley, said: “We’re proud to be leading the way in introducing high visibility maternity PPE for expectant mothers. This pioneering initiative supports our aim of creating a more inclusive workforce and to work in an environment where all of our employees can be safe and remain healthy.”

Expectant mother Louise Pattison (pictured), who works for Tarmac’s Cement and Lime business in Barnstone, Nottingham, added: “It used to be the case that expectant mothers needing PPE for their work had to wear oversized male protective clothing and make their own alterations. I’m delighted to be one of the first at Tarmac to have the opportunity to wear PPE that is specially made for pregnant women.”

The PPE, which confirms to international health and safety standards, is manufactured by Leo Workwear.