Time off for expressing at work?

[hunkermunker]

Before I left work, I'm sure I read somewhere on their HR guidelines that they allow you time off to express milk. Or I read it somewhere else. Or I dreamt it.

However, now I'm back at work, I can't seem to find it on our intranet, remember where else I might've seen it or dream the same dream.

Can anyone help?! Is there something in law that says this or is it just a nice thing that some companies offer?

Or was I dreaming?!

Why not just tell everyone you've become a smoker, and disappear regularly for your fag breaks, but express then instead?

It REALLY annoys me that people who smoke get time out for fags, but the rest of us have to beg time away from our desks.

(altho' now I freelance at home it's not a prob for me. Used to drive me nuts tho')

Good point! I did mention it to my line manager who was just about to pop out for a fag (grr - makes me too - I don't get 'standing outside' breaks!).

We have to fill in a time management thing each day (to prove we're profitable or something!) and I asked what this time would go down as. She said 'probably sick leave' and walked off. But it's not sick leave, it's providing food for my baby time! Still, I guess it might be a bit funny to have a code for it - LOL!

You are definately legally entitled to paid breaks and a place to express (and loos don't count). Try teh maternity alliance website

I think there's nothing in law that actually says you have time to express, BUT as prufrock says, you're entitled to paid breaks. So I argued that I didn't take a lunch-break, instead I split that hour owed to me into a morning and afternoon expressing session.

Really sad that you aren't legally entitled to this - the maternity alliance have got brilliant information on all of this. I ordered one of their booklets. In other European countries breastfeeding women are legally entitled to a certain number of 'rest or expressing breaks'.

UK workplaces DO however have to provide you with somewhere suitable to express (not the loos, though I actually chose to use a very large, clean disabled loo).

Use occupational health to express in?

To complicate things further, remember to think about storing the milk. I think there might be something in law about having access to storage facilites. I agree with easy - fag breaks never seem to cause the same inconvenience, do they??

Whe I expressed I had to sit in the toilet, my boss did say that I sould sit in his office but it had two large wondows over looking the office so i decided against that option!!! One of th eguys I worked with was a rigt wan**r, he would throw disgusted looks when he realised what I had been doing - he found it gross?!?! tosser! when i was pregnant, all i got was "my girlfiend didnt feel like that, do that etc when she was pregnant"!!!!
The whole time I was pregnant they smoked around me even though i asked them not too. Thats oneof the problems working for a small company, his attitude was if i didnt like it then i could go. I really wish i had stuck up for myself, we were all made redundant anyway a few months later. You have the right to express milk for your baby, NCT helpline should be able to fill you in.

good luck!
x

I can find out for you if you want? I work for the Police Service and they're a major employer. When I returned to work I was breastfeeding and it wasn't in question. I was approached by a "male" superior, and told I had an automatic entitlement to a room with a lock for expressing, and they even got me my own fridge to store it in. I can ask where this "law" comes from if you want?

That would be fab, mummyloves - I'd really appreciate it. I'm at work at the moment (don't ask - going home soon!) - haven't needed to express this shift, but am going to when I get home if DS isn't awake (and I hope he's not!).

HM xxx

You are absolutely entitled to a place to express (NOT the loos) AND somewhere to store your milk. This is a legal requirement. BUT in theory you aren't entitled to extra time off to express, you have to use your existing breaks, e.g. lunchhour. So it's down to your employer on how flexible they will be about that.

Have a look at the maternity alliance site - I ordered some leaflets from them on this subject.