Breastfeeding facilities
[ch 3: page 39]There is no legal obligation to provide facilities for expressing and storing milk. However the HSE advises that any facilities should be private, healthy and safe.
The Acas breastfeeding guide suggests that a breastfeeding employee might ask for a private, hygienic, safe and secure area to express milk, which could be an unoccupied office, or an area used for meetings that can be discreetly screened. The employer should check with the employee what would suit her best.
The HSE advises that “it is not suitable for new mothers to use toilets for expressing milk”. Neither, says Acas, should a new mother use a sick room, as there could be a hygiene risk.
Acas suggests enabling expressed milk to be stored in any fridge or cool area in the workplace refreshment area, perhaps secured in a re-sealable container for hygiene purposes. Storage preferences should be discussed with the employee.
Any facilities provided to direct employees must also be made available to temporary agency workers as a day one right under regulation 12 of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (Access to collective facilities and amenities). Treating an agency worker less favourably because she is breastfeeding is also likely to amount to sex discrimination.