What are my rights when I want to continue breastfeeding at work?

Returning to work after maternity leave can be challenging, with more time spent in the office and less time shared with your baby.

But what if you want to continue providing breast milk for your baby after your return to work?

For one Northern Ireland teacher, who wishes to remain anonymous, this wish was made difficult after her principal said there was nowhere for her to express in school.

Instead, she walked to her car over lunchtime to breast pump in private.

The Health and Safety Executive NI recommends to employers that it's good practice to provide a private, healthy and safe environment for breastfeeding mothers to express and store milk - although this isn't a legal requirement.

UTV asked the Equality Commission if there was any legislation to protect women in this scenario - and the answer was yes.

There are laws that indirectly protect women's rights in the workplace; Health & Safety legislation and the Equality legislation.

Paul Oakes from the Equality Commission told UTV: "They have a right to breastfeed and express milk in a safe environment and in a safe way, they have a right to have their job altered or their activities altered if it impinges on their ability to breastfeed or express milk and the employer must conduct a health and safety assessment for the mum who's returning and breastfeeding.

"If for example anything prohibits the mum from breastfeeding, that can be regarded as a risk against the child. So there are provisions under the Health and Safety Legislation, which are quite extensive, that provide these rights.

"Second of all, there's the Equality Legislation and it's the Sex Discrimination Order in Northern Ireland of 1976 and under that legislation, where an employer has a policy or an arrangement that indirectly affects on any group, and in this case women who are breastfeeding or expressing milk, then the employer has to justify those arrangements."

UTV asked Mr Oakes if an employer refused to provide at least a safe and private space for a breastfeeding mum, could this be indirect sex discrimination?

"The short answer to that is yes," said Mr Oakes.

"If you don't put in place for example, a safe, comfortable, room with electric facilities, with running water, with confidentiality, with privacy, it's likely to contravene the Equality legislation and more than that, it's likely to contravene Health and Safety legislation."

We asked Mr Oakes if it's possible that some employers in Northern Ireland are not aware of the right's of breastfeeding workers.

"Well breastfeeding is a wee bit like, say, menopause at work. Historically it was regarded as a, quote, 'women's issue' and therefore, like a lot of issues that principally affected women... it wasn't given serious attention by many employers, it was relegated and breastfeeding in particular wasn't addressed in a serious manner.

"Therefore women who wanted to breastfeed were prevented from doing so or had to do so in situations which were not conducive to that being a positive experience for them. So that's part of it.

"Part of it is that there is a lack of awareness. There's no specific law that provides proactive rights for women who want to breastfeed or express milk but the support that does come from law is indirectly available, so there's a lack of awareness around that."

Employers are also being encouraged to see the benefits of supporting women who wish to breastfeed when they return to work.

"Mr Oakes said: "If you take a women who wants to breastfeed and knows there are policies and provisions in place and knows she is going to be supported and included in the workforce, she will be much more content going back to work... so she'll go back earlier - so that's an economic benefit for the employer.

"Second of all, she'll be more content because she is being included, her needs and experiences are being taken seriously and are being addressed and therefore she will feel happier and more productive. In addition to that, she'll have more loyalty to the employer and she'll stay. Unlike the employee who is not content and maybe doesn't have as much loyalty, who will leave."

For more advice, visit Equality Commission Northern Ireland.

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