98.—(1) For the purposes of this Part an employee is suspended from work on maternity grounds if, in consequence of any relevant requirement or relevant recommendation, she is suspended from work by her employer on the ground that she is pregnant, has recently given birth or is breastfeeding a child.
(2) In paragraph (1)—
“relevant requirement” means a requirement imposed by or under a specified statutory provision, and
“relevant recommendation” means a recommendation in a specified provision of a code of practice issued or approved under Article 18 of the [1978 NI 9.] Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978;
and in this paragraph “specified” means for the time being specified in an order made by the Department under this paragraph.
(3) For the purposes of this Part an employee shall be regarded as suspended from work on maternity grounds only if and for so long as she—
(a)continues to be employed by her employer, but
(b)is not provided with work or (disregarding alternative work for the purposes of Article 99) does not perform the work she normally performed before the suspension.