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Posted By Scott d
Hi All,
Pregnant workers need to be provided with 'suitable' rest facilities and a private place to extract and store milk (recommended).
Question: Does the rest facility have to be private? or can it simply be a tea room used by others?
Question: Do I need to buy a small fridge or what other options do I have for storage.
I have just been informed of this issue and any help in the early stages would be much appreciated!
Many Thanks
Scott
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Posted By Alexander Falconer
Scott
Do you really need to ask the question? Does the rest room have to be private? or can I use the tea room?
Look at it this way, how many women have the confidence to bare their breasts in public?
Not trying to be sexist, but the issue of breast feeding in public is still a no no in the UK, in comarison with other european countries where it is positively encouraged.
The point I am trying to make, the attitude of some people these days still make those breast feeding mums ashamed to conduct what is natural.
Result the stigma of loss of confidence, hence many mums consigned to rest rooms to breast feed or express their milk.
I suppose its all a matter of preference, and confidence in the mums themselves, my wife preferred the quietness and confines of a rest room with a lock in her workplace, without fear of being disturbed.
There is nothing to stop you using a tea room, as long as there is scope for privacy, ie outwith the standard tea break times, has facilities for locking etc.
Refrigerators are recommended to provide the storage of expressed breast milk, and as long as this is also identified as such. Can imagine the looks, "this tea/coffee tastes slightly different".
A
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Posted By Lilian McCartney
The process of expressing breast milk involves a small 'pump' unit and I would expect that the employee would wish privacy for this and should get it.
As for a seaparate fridge you can get a little one for about £20 which is good to have if you cannot ensure that the breast milk would not be contaminated or be 'used'.
These little fridges are good if you have multiple sites and only require one every now and then as it can be shared between sites.
There was a previous thread about whether an employee should bring a baby in to work to be breast fed.
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Posted By Scott d
Hi All,
Thanks for the reply but their was never any question about the need for a place to extract milk being private, it was simply the rest facilities.
The issue I am looking at is; do we need a private place for them to lie down or is a suitable chair in the rest area OK? -
The guidance I have been able to access at this point is very vague and having never worked with women or been associated with any young children in my personal life, this is a new one for me.
I will discuss this with women who have had children, in order to establish how far I should be going, however, I imagine the symptoms of pregnancy will affect people differently and therefore i may find that a place to lie down may be necessary just in case.
If there was a requirement for a suitable place to rest to have a place to lie down, then I would be wasting my time contemplating this issue.
Many Thanks,
Scott
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Posted By Lilian McCartney
Hi Scott,
You shoul dget yourself a copy of HSG122 which gives guidance ofr employers on Pregnant employees and those breastfeeding.
Under rest facilities it says
'Rest facilities
The first-aid room may be used for rest purposes. In view of its remote location you should tell another member of staff if you are using it'.
So I reckon it means private. I expect if you're resting and the tea room was being used at same time as tea room you might not get much rest with people asking if your ok.
Hope this helps
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Posted By Scott d
Thanks Lilian,
I have ordered a copy and as i don't have access to it as yet, I was hoping someone who did would help me out on this in the short term - and you have!
I have somewhere which i could use but it has been earmarked as something else, hence the reason I wanted to know sooner rather that later, so that I can put the breaks on this.
Thanks Again,
Scott
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Posted By Kate Graham
Er ... it's when they stop being pregnant that they may want to express and store milk!
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Posted By Ron Young
In one Kate. It's a hard job sometimes eh?
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