BREASTFEEDING IN THE WORKPLACE POLICY AND GUIDELINES

This is primarily an information sheet on workplace breastfeeding entitlements for employees. By implication, it reflects what we believe should apply in all workplaces, and our belief that health sector organisations should be exemplars. 

Employers have clear legal obligations to support breastfeeding or expressing in the workplace. These obligations come from the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the related Employment Relations (Breaks, Infant Feeding, and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2008. Here is a breakdown of what is legally required:

Right to breastfeed or express milk at work

Under section 69Y of the Employment Relations Act 2000, an employer must provide appropriate breaks and facilities for an employee who wishes to breastfeed or express breast milk during work hours — if it is reasonable and practicable to do so in the circumstances.

Break entitlements

Employees are entitled to unpaid breaks to breastfeed or express. The number and timing of breaks should be agreed between employer and employee, and employers must act in good faith when making arrangements.

If breaks for breastfeeding/expressing overlap with paid rest or meal breaks, they can be combined.

Facilities

Employers must make reasonable and practicable efforts to provide facilities for breastfeeding or expressing milk. 

This generally means providing a private, clean, and comfortable space (not a toilet or bathroom) with a lockable door or privacy screen, a chair and table/surface, access to handwashing facilities, and refrigeration or storage options for expressed milk (if possible).

The key phrase is “reasonable and practicable,” which depends on size and nature of the business, location of the workplace, the employer’s resources, and the employee’s needs.

Non-compliance

If an employer fails to provide reasonable facilities or breaks, this can be a breach of the Employment Relations Act, and the employee can raise a personal grievance for unjustified disadvantage.

Best practice (above legal minimum)

Even though the law requires only “reasonable and practicable” support, good employers should endeavour to have a written breastfeeding policy, provide a designated lactation room, allow flexible scheduling, and support gradual return-to-work arrangements.

Key references

o   Employment Relations Act 2000, sections 69Y – 69Z

o   Employment New Zealand: Breastfeeding in the workplace

o   Human Rights Act 1993 (protection from discrimination on grounds of sex, which includes pregnancy and breastfeeding).

Here is a longer PDF downloadable version, including a Sample Workplace Policy.