Breastfeeding rights

Against

SCHOOL and college leaders are being urged by the union to review their arrangements for supporting breastfeeding women returning from maternity leave, following a landmark employment tribunal ruling.

Middle leader Tara Mellor took The Mirfield Free Grammar (MFG) to tribunal, supported by the NEU, after she was forced to express breastmilk for her 12-week-old baby in dirty school toilets and in the car park during her 25-minute lunchbreak. The tribunal found that the school had created a“degrading and humiliating” environment for Tara, which amounted to harassment on the basis of her sex.

The case was brought under the Equality Act 2010.

Left with no choice Tara returned to work in September 2020 and repeatedly requested a room in which to express milk, but leaders failed to provide one. She was then left with no choice but to use the toilets and car park.

“It was cold and draughty in the toilets because all the windows were open for ventilation and I had to lay out my jacket to sit on,” she says. “The floor often had urine sprinkles on it and there were paper towels from an overflowing bin. Sometimes I was really hungry, so I would sit and eat on the floor. It was disgusting.”

Her case highlights the appalling treatment of some new mothers returning to work.

The NEU’s maternity rights 2022 survey of more than 3,700 members found that 41 per cent are still breastfeeding when they go back to work. Some members reported having to express milk in store cupboards, science labs, changing rooms and toilets.

The tribunal rejected the school’s claim that Tara had not submitted a complaint or grievance so could not have viewed it as a “real issue”.

In 2021, she felt she had no option but to resign.

Former colleague Claire Pickles, also a middle leader at MFG, had a similar experience. She, too, resigned just a few weeks after returning from maternity leave in September 2021.

On her first day back at work, Claire discovered that a room to express milk in that she had been promised by the head teacher – who has since left – had instead been given to a governor. Claire says the lack of support she received as a new mother returning to teaching led her to believe it was impossible to be a mum and a teacher.

The last straw was when the deputy head rolled her eyes and said “for God’s sake” when Claire requested to leave work early after her son’s nursery called to say he was ill.

“She is also a mum and I thought ‘why aren’t you being a bit kinder to someone who is a new mum?’. If I’m ever in leadership in the future, I’ll be a ten times better leader than they were.”

The union’s advice to leaders on supporting breastfeeding women in the workplace

NEU legal officer Sandra Bennett says:

“This judgment has clarified the extent of employers’ duties towards working women who are breastfeeding. School and college leaders would be well advised to review their arrangements for supporting breastfeeding women returning from maternity leave. An individual risk assessment should be arranged for a member of staff who advises that she is still breastfeeding.

“Arrangements should be made for her to access a suitable area where she can rest. This space should be hygienic and private so that she can express breastmilk if she needs to. Rest breaks should also be co-ordinated according to her need to avoid the risk of leaking breastmilk or becoming ill. In line with guidance from the Health and Safety Executive, employers should also provide somewhere to store breastmilk, for example a fridge.”

Many employers can and do provide appropriate support, facilities and breaks for breastfeeding mothers. The NEU is calling on all employers to uphold breastfeeding women’s rights at work. We want to see breastfeeding risk assessments, flexible adjustments to work arrangements, suitable rest facilities and dedicated paid breastfeeding breaks. Go to hse. gov.uk/mothers/employer/restbreastfeeding-at-work.htm