Staff training crucial in avoiding breastfeeding fines

The provisions of the Breastfeeding (Scotland) Bill, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament last week, will have to be taken on board by employers, according to Jane Fraser, head of employment, pensions and benefits with commercial law firm, Maclay Murray & Spens. Approval for the bill, which was launched last year, means it is now an offence in Scotland to stop anyone breastfeeding children aged under the age of two in public or family-friendly licensed premises.

However, the provision will not add significantly to existing responsibilities under rights granted to breastfeeding mothers for many years under health and safety legislation, Jane Fraser explains.

Under legal health and safety requirements, employers already have to provide ìsuitable facilitiesî in which breastfeeding employees can írestí. The Health and Safety Executive also recommends employers should provide women who are breastfeeding not only with suitable rest periods, but also access to a private room to express milk; somewhere hygienic to store milk; and time off without loss of pay to express milk or breastfeed.

Where the bill is set to have a direct impact on employment practices, she says, is in the provisions on liability for the actions of employees.

ìEven where employers do not know that an employee has prevented or stopped a customer from feeding milk to a child, they will be liable for a fine of up to 2,500 because of the actions of a member of staff,î she warns. ìTo minimise the risk of being fined in such circumstances, an employer will need to show they have taken all steps they could to prevent the employee from committing an offence. In practice, this will mean training or a briefing for staff on the implications of the bill when it comes into force.î

However, she points out there are a number of positive benefits for employers from the introduction of ìbreastfeedingî measures, including a higher rate of return to work of valued employees, which in turn results in lower recruitment and training costs.

She adds: ìThese measures have also been found to have a positive impact on staff morale and act as a recruitment incentive for attracting new staff. A further bonus is that the Health Education Board for Scotland has stated that breastfed babies are half as likely to get sick in the first year of life compared with those receiving manufactured formula milks, leading to lower rates of parental absence.

There is no reason why service providers should not reap similar benefits in terms of increased customer loyalty or, by using such provision as a selling point, to attract new customers.î

Please email Jane.Fraser@mms.co.uk for more info