World Breastfeeding Week runs from 1 to 7 August 2024. This year’s theme was ‘breastfeeding support for all’.
To mark World Breastfeeding Week 2024, Justitia Associate Melissa Elleray posted a series of practical tips on LinkedIn to support breastfeeding parents at work.
We’ve summarised the key takeaways from Melissa’s LinkedIn series.
1. Create a policy framework
Put in place clear policies and procedures for facilitating lactation breaks at work. A clear policy can assist with addressing any anxieties that your worker might have before they are ready to discuss their needs with their manager.
2. Support your managers
Your managers can make a positive difference to a breastfeeding worker’s experience. Develop the necessary skills before a worker makes a request for lactation breaks by providing training on your policies and the organisation’s legal obligations under anti-discrimination and workplace laws. Provide practical strategies for managers to approach these conversations with workers with respect and care.
3. Consult
Initiate discussions with breastfeeding workers about what facilities are currently available, discuss their needs, and what options they consider will meet those needs. Don’t assume that each breastfeeding worker’s needs will be the same.
4. Be respectful
Consultation should not involve an employee being subjected to uncomfortable questioning about the breastfeeding process.
5. Inform yourself
If you don’t know, get advice! Employers are required to seek proper advice to understand a particular protected attribute under anti-discrimination laws. In a recent ACT case, the Act Civil and Administrative Tribunal was critical of the Chief People Officer for relying on the views of his romantic partner about options and the need for frequency of expressing.
The Australian Breastfeeding Association has wonderful resources available on its website which may assist employers to understand what makes a breastfeeding friendly workplace, including how to become accredited as a breastfeeding friendly workplace.
6. Communicate with the team
If the breastfeeding worker is comfortable, let the other workers in their team know that the worker will be taking lactation breaks. This can minimise any awkwardness for the worker having to answer questions their colleagues may have about where the worker has been while taking a lactation break. It also signals that the requirement to take a lactation break is acceptable and supported by the employer.
7. Be flexible
Your workers’ needs will change as their breastfeeding journey evolves. They also may not have all of the answers upfront – your worker may also be learning about their needs for the first time.
8. Start the conversation early
Start the conversation before your worker takes parental leave so they know what to expect when they return. The worker may not know what support they will need at this time, but having the conversation early lets them know that they will be supported when they are ready to return to work.
Returning to work can be an emotionally challenging time for parents. Employers can make a positive difference to a worker’s experience by proactively engaging with workers to support their breastfeeding journey at work.
How Justitia can help
We can assist employers to implement clear policies and procedures, and to guide responses to requests for lactation breaks and breastfeeding facilities at work. Please contact our team at info@justitia.com.au.
Supporting workplaces to become breastfeeding friendly is a special passion for Justitia Associate Melissa Elleray. You can contact Melissa directly at melissa.elleray@justitia.com.au or check out Melissa’s LinkedIn page here to view each post.