Expressing milk at work

ktothema

I appreciate there may be little they can do and that a lot of rules surrounding breastfeeding aren't actually rules but guidelines, but I'm pretty sure your manager should be attempting to help and not washing their hands of you.

Have you contemplated doing it at your desk? I'm guessing you'd prefer private but doing it publicly may get the managers moving.

^not constructive advice really.

dizzyrascal

I see that the link provided is just recommendations.
I appreciate the dilema and if you worked for my current employer then i am sure that they could accommodate you as they are a very large employer.
However, the accommodation at my previous employer (6 employees) was very was tiny by comparison with just 2 offices and a loo. The only option in that circumstance would have been home or the car.
I think it also depends on other factors. How old will the child be when you return to work? If you employer wants you back after 2 weeks then that makes a big difference. If you are going back when the child is one year old, then the needs are different.

moneypuddle

preciousillusions wrote: »

Wow, the replies in this thread have left me a bit dumbfounded tbh!

I think it's unreasonable to ask you to express milk in the toilet like it's some dirty secret! You should be given a sufficient hygienic space in which to do so, surely this would come into employment rights? I'd suggest you have a word with an independent source that can advice appropriately and legally as to where you stand with this.

I'd also expect a little more human courtesy from your boss seeing as you have been a loyal employee for so many years so totally think your disappointment in their reaction is entirely justified! Are they a particularly family/women hostile company at all? What's the female to male ratio like? Has this situation not come up before?!

Good luck to you!

Thank you. The owner of the company (and my direct boss) is female, with a son of her own (in his twenties now). There are 25 of us in total (approx 7 women and 18 men to give you an idea of the split, but the majority are field sales people so aren't based in the office units), but since I've been here none of the women have had babies, so no its not come up before.

moneypuddle

[Deleted User] wrote:

Hi,

the thing about using one of the empty offices, how would you get access, would the business centre manager have to allow access at your arranged times, as I doubt you would be given your own set of keys.

There's a receptionist here. I thought she might have let me in.

The office would be just empty - just a desk and chair in some cases, so I would hope they wouldn't have a problem with me being in there.

moneypuddle

westv wrote: »

Apologies if this sounds a daft question but wouldn't it just be easier to do whatever you need at home? Wouldn't the milk need to be stored there anyway?
Again apologies if I have got the wrong end of the stick as I know little about the subject - I'd never heard of "expressing milk" before.

Possibly but its a very busy environment here. I probably leave the office for lunch about once a month and often just eat at my desk or down in the kitchen as its quicker.

moneypuddle

ktothema wrote: »

I appreciate there may be little they can do and that a lot of rules surrounding breastfeeding aren't actually rules but guidelines, but I'm pretty sure your manager should be attempting to help and not washing their hands of you.

Have you contemplated doing it at your desk? I'm guessing you'd prefer private but doing it publicly may get the managers moving.

^not constructive advice really.

I don't mean to sound prudish but am really not keen on whapping my boob out at my desk, since I'm sat in with 4 women and 1 man. Especially not with the noise the pump makes. I think it might be a bit of a distraction and would make me feel very awkward

Face1992

I am suprised employers even bother opening companies when they have all of these stupid regulations/guidelines foisted on them.

pimento

Face1992 wrote: »

I am suprised employers even bother opening companies when they have all of these stupid regulations/guidelines foisted on them.

I have to say, it makes it less surprising that a small business owner would not choose a woman of childbearing age when recruiting.

moneypuddle

pimento wrote: »

I have to say, it makes it less surprising that a small business owner would not choose a woman of childbearing age when recruiting.

I disagree. I wasn't 'child bearing age' when I started at the company, but now nearly 6 years down the line, I am. It happens. I've not asked what I'm entitled to, just what others thought was reasonable or what they had experienced. Surely its all just the normal "give and take" of life. The company have had very loyal service from me for a long period with excessive hours, huge stresses and major ups and downs. I didn't think asking to be able to express milk to feed my baby would be anything other than an issue we would work on together to arrange.

ktothema

moneypuddle wrote: »

I don't mean to sound prudish but am really not keen on whapping my boob out at my desk, since I'm sat in with 4 women and 1 man. Especially not with the noise the pump makes. I think it might be a bit of a distraction and would make me feel very awkward

I had a suspicion you may say that. I wouldn't want to myself either.