21 November 2005
As the New Labour driven family friendly policies continue to play a significant part in the day to day running of businesses in the UK, employers should consider the likely impact of the new bill on the promotion of breastfeeding.
The first reading of the ‘Breastfeeding etc. Bill’ in the House of Commons took place on 8 November 2005 and if passed through, it will make an employer vicariously liable if one of their employee’s deliberately prevents or stops a person in charge of a child from feeding milk to that child in a public place or on a licensed premises.
This could affect a number of businesses that provide client facing services and if employers are found guilty, they are liable on conviction to a fine of up to £2,500. In order to avoid such fines, employers will need to ensure that there is an adequate level of awareness of these rights amongst employees and managers and arrange training for staff on how to deal with anyone wishing to breastfeed with dignity.
Whilst many shops and restaurants already provided breast feedings areas, it may in the future be considered inappropriate to ask someone to move into one of these areas, if they are breastfeeding in a public area. Employees therefore need to be sensitive to the day to day issues women face when breastfeeding.
Additionally, the government has indicated that it intends on using this bill to help employers develop an awareness of employees who return to work after maternity leave who wish to continue breastfeeding. Whilst there are no new obligations relating to employee rights under this bill, employers should use the opportunity to remind themselves of their current obligations under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1999 to provide suitable rest facilities for workers who are pregnant or breastfeeding, which are that:
- An employee must notify their employer in writing that she is breastfeeding if she wishes to make use of this protection
- An employer has duty to consider whether working conditions are a risk to her health or health of her baby, whilst an employee is breast feeding
- If a risk is identified, an employer must do all that is reasonable to reduce risk, including temporarily changing hours or conditions
- If the risk can't be avoided, an employer must offer suitable alternative work with similar terms and conditions
- If no suitable alternative available, an employer must suspend the employee on full pay
The government will have to accept that it may take some time before there is a shift in UK attitude towards breast-feeding in public, however in the mean time employers should ensure they are not caught out by failing to raise awareness within their businesses.
The Bill will be read for a second time on 24 February 2006.