Lifting Restrictions at Work in Ireland: Pregnancy, Young Workers, and Medical Limits

You manage a small team in a Galway warehouse. One person has just told you she is pregnant, another is seventeen and still in school, and a third has come back from six weeks off with a note from his GP about a disc injury. All three spend part of the day lifting boxes. You need to know what lifting restrictions apply to each of them under Irish law, and where the line actually sits.

Ireland has no single legal weight that everyone is forbidden to lift, but there are genuine lifting restrictions that apply to particular workers and particular situations. Some come from specific regulations, and others from an employer's general duty to assess risk and act on what it finds. Getting them right protects your staff and keeps you on the right side of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).

Are There Legal Lifting Restrictions in Ireland?

There is no fixed number in Irish law that says nobody may lift more than a set weight. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 take a risk based approach instead. Regulation 68 and Schedule 3 set out the factors that make a lift risky: the load itself, the task, the working environment, and the individual doing the work. The employer's duty under Regulation 69 is to avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable, and where it cannot be avoided, to assess and reduce the risk. This is why there is no legal maximum lifting weight in Ireland that applies across the board.

So the general rule is capability and context, not a national limit. On top of that general rule, the law singles out certain groups for extra protection. For pregnant employees and for workers under eighteen, lifting restrictions stop being a matter of judgement and become a specific legal obligation.

Lifting Restrictions for Pregnant Employees

An employer must carry out a specific risk assessment for an employee who is pregnant, has recently given birth, or is breastfeeding. This is set out in Part 6, Chapter 2 and Schedule 8 of the 2007 Regulations. Manual handling is one of the risks that assessment has to consider, because heavy or awkward lifting, twisting, and working at the limit of reach can all pose a risk to the employee and to the developing child.

If the assessment shows a risk that cannot be removed through protective or preventive measures, the employer is legally required to adjust the employee's working conditions or hours, or both. In practice that often means reducing or removing heavy lifting, providing mechanical aids, or moving the person to different duties for a period. The HSA publishes a pregnancy risk assessment template to help employers do this properly. The obligation is not optional, and it does not depend on the employee asking for it. Once the employer is aware of the pregnancy, the duty to assess and adjust applies.

Lifting Restrictions for Young Workers Under 18

Workers under eighteen get additional protection under the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 and under Part 6, Chapter 1 of the 2007 Regulations. An employer must complete a risk assessment before a child or young person starts work, and again when there is a significant change to the job.

There is no single kilogram figure for under eighteens either, but the assessment has to take account of their inexperience, their physical development, and their lower awareness of risk. Young workers should not be given the heaviest or most repetitive lifting, and they must not be put on tasks that are beyond their physical capacity. The regulations also prevent anyone under eighteen from operating mechanically powered lifting equipment or giving signals to its operator. For a seventeen year old on a warehouse floor, that means lighter loads, closer supervision, and no forklift or powered hoist work.

Medical Restrictions, Injury, and Returning to Work

The third common situation is a worker with a medical lifting restriction, whether that is a temporary limit after an injury or an ongoing condition. When an employee provides a note from a GP or occupational health specialist setting out what they can and cannot lift, the employer should treat that as part of the risk assessment for that person's role.

The employer's duty here flows from the same general obligation to protect health and safety, and where a disability is involved, from the duty to provide reasonable accommodation. That can mean temporarily reallocating heavy tasks, providing lifting aids, allowing team lifts, or adjusting targets while someone recovers. A phased return with clear, written restrictions is usually far safer than assuming a worker is either fully fit or fully off. The aim is to stop a first injury becoming a recurring one.

What Employers Should Do About Lifting Restrictions

Whatever the reason for a restriction, the process an employer follows is broadly the same. Assess the specific person and task rather than relying on a generic figure. Write the restriction down and make sure the person and their supervisor both understand it. Provide practical alternatives such as mechanical aids, smaller loads, or team lifting. Review the arrangement as circumstances change, for example as a pregnancy progresses or an injury heals. Good manual handling training underpins all of this, because staff who understand the risk factors are far better at spotting when a task exceeds someone's safe limit. Our guide to manual handling regulations for Irish employers covers the wider duties in more detail.

Who This Applies To

These restrictions matter most to employers, managers, and HR staff who assign physical work, and to the workers protected by them. They are especially relevant in warehousing and logistics, construction, retail, hospitality, healthcare, and care settings, where lifting is part of the daily routine. If your role involves deciding who does the heavy work, or you are a pregnant, young, or recovering worker unsure of your rights, the points above set out where Irish law draws the line.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a legal maximum lifting weight in Ireland?
No. Irish law sets no fixed maximum weight that applies to everyone. Employers must assess each lift against the risk factors in Schedule 3 of the 2007 Regulations and reduce the risk, rather than working to a single legal number.

Can my employer make me lift heavy loads while I am pregnant?
No, not without first carrying out a pregnancy risk assessment. If that assessment shows a risk from lifting, your employer must adjust your duties or hours to remove it. This is a legal requirement under Part 6 of the 2007 Regulations, not a favour.

What is the lifting limit for a 16 or 17 year old at work?
There is no set figure, but under eighteens are given extra protection. A risk assessment must be done before they start, they should not do the heaviest or most repetitive lifting, and they may not operate mechanically powered lifting equipment.

Do I have to tell my employer about a lifting restriction from my doctor?
It is strongly advisable. Your employer can only accommodate a restriction they know about. Once informed, they should factor it into your risk assessment and provide suitable alternatives or adjustments.

Can an employer dismiss someone who cannot lift?
Not as a first response. The employer is expected to assess the role, consider reasonable adjustments, and look at alternative duties before treating an inability to lift as a barrier to the job, particularly where a disability or pregnancy is involved.