Breast-Feeding In The Workplace: An Employer’s Duty

In the wake of the Equality Bill consultation which proposes that women should be allowed to breast-feed in public places such as restaurants, cafes, shopping centres etc., it is important for employers to consider what their duty is with regards to breastfeeding mothers in the workplace.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Employment Rights Act 2002 protect the health and safety of new and expectant mothers who work. Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, if an employer fails to protect the health and safety of their pregnant workers, it is automatically considered sex discrimination. The Regulations cover female employees who are, or in the future could be, a new or expectant mother. In other words, women of childbearing age who are, or in the future could be, pregnant, have given birth within the previous six months, or are breastfeeding.

The HSE recommends that it is good practice to provide a private, healthy and safe environment for nursing mothers to express milk. The room should simply be conveniently situated in relation to sanitary facilities, and there should be somewhere for mothers to lie down if they wish. It is not suitable to use toilets for this purpose.

A specific risk assessment of the room should be carried out before it is used.

The employee should be given the use of a secure, clean fridge for storing expressed breast milk while at work, and also facilities for washing, sterilising and storing receptacles. Employees must also be given time off from their duties (without loss of pay or benefits, and without fear of penalty) to express milk or breastfeed.

Employees are required to provide employers with written notification that they are breastfeeding, preferably before their return to work after maternity leave.

John Macmillan from MacRoberts solicitors advises employers to have a suitable policy put in place, which clearly sets out the company’s arrangements for breastfeeding employees. This can either be a separate Breastfeeding Policy, or simply contained within an existing Maternity Policy.

Macmillan also advises that employers should not view this as a burden as research shows that by supporting breastfeeding employees they benefit from reduced parental absence – breastfed babies are half as likely to get sick in the first year of life as those receiving artificial baby milk. It also shows a higher rate of return to work of valued employees; increased staff morale and loyalty; lower recruitment and training costs and a recruitment incentive to attract new staff.

Source: Workplace Law

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