Breastfeeding at work

Returning to work doesn't mean breastfeeding or expressing milk has to stop unless you want it to.

We are dedicated to providing all possible support and facilities to employees who are returning to work after a period of family leave, to assist their transition back to work. There are locations allocated for breastfeeding and expressing milk in each of the council's main buildings.

Your manager will work with you to find the best way of meeting your and your baby’s needs while also taking the needs of the council and our service users into account.

This includes providing support to returning parents who wish to continue to breastfeed or express milk during working hours. 

You can use the family friendly conversation guide as a tool to start the discussion. You should discuss your wishes with your manager during your keeping-in-touch conversations leading up to your return to work.

Health and safety

You and your line manager should re-review the pregnant and recently pregnant employee policy and update your risk assessment. These documents should also be updated if your needs or work situations change.

Adjustments to working arrangements

When considering potential adjustments to your working arrangements, discuss with your manager what changes you think you will need and how these might be accommodated. Whilst the council cannot guarantee that it will be able to agree to every request for flexibility, it will endeavour, within reason, to support your wishes.

If your manager feels that your initial suggestions cannot be accommodated, you should both consider if any alternative options would be acceptable. If, after discussion, your manager in unable to support your request to alter your working arrangements to allow you to breastfeed or express milk whilst at work, they will provide you with a written explanation with the business reasons for their decision.

Breastfeeding and expressing in a council workplace

Expressing milk

Let your manager know if you wish to express milk, to ensure that suitable facilities are made available for you. Talk to your manager if you need to temporarily adjust your usual rest breaks, such as taking more frequent or longer breaks during the day. 

All milk expressed should be stored in a personal sealed container or cool bag and must be clearly labelled with your name and contact details. You are responsible for the proper storage and transportation of your own milk, in line with public health advice (NHS: Start for Life).

Breastfeeding

If you wish to continue to breastfeed your baby during working hours (for example if you have arranged childcare close to work), discuss with your manager if you would like to request flexibility in your working pattern to allow this, such as taking longer lunch breaks.

If more time is required beyond your usual break allowance, speak to your manager about workstyle personalisation to potentially allow you to temporarily adapt your working pattern, such as by adjusting your start or finish times.

Working remotely

When you work remotely it’s really important to make sure you take the breaks you need, just like you would if you were in the workplace. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget work and home boundaries, so talk to your manager and agree between you how you will get the time and space you need to feed your baby or express milk during your working day.

Whilst working remotely, it can be difficult to breastfeed or express milk whilst also engaging in challenging work situations. Ideally, you will be able to plan your breastfeeding or expressing pattern alongside virtual meetings so they do not overlap. However, if you know you have a busy day of virtual meetings ahead, speak to your manager to explain that you may need to have the usual meeting protocols relaxed so that you can maintain your privacy. You can agree to turn off your camera and mute your microphone, if appropriate.

Alternatively, you may wish to consider other options, such as asking for the meeting to be recorded so that you can catch up on events later, or where possible, rescheduling the meeting for another time.

Further advice and support

If you have any further questions about the support available at the council, or would like support in discussing this topic with your manager, you can contact People Support by logging your query via the Assyst portal.

For more urgent queries, call 0333 013 5888 or email people.support@essex.gov.uk.