Unite, the union, report that an employment tribunal has found that a failure by an airline to limit duty days to 8 hours, to allow two female cabin crew members who were breastfeeding their babies to express milk, was indirect discrimination.

Two members of easyJet’s cabin crew, Sara Ambacher and Cynthia McFarlane, have baby boys, who were being breastfed. Both women knew they were not permitted to ‘express’ milk during a flight and so, on the recommendation of their GPs, they asked easyJet to roster them for a maximum of eight hours to enable them to express their milk either side of the shift. The airline rejected their request on health and safety grounds “primarily for their own safety” citing unforeseen delays as potentially resulting in them working beyond the eight hours.

Unite says that “curiously”, the airline’s solution was to offer Sara and Cynthia standard, unrestricted duty days of 12 hours which, evidently, would have significantly increased the risk of mastitis and painful, engorged breasts. The union goes on to say that although in their training literature easyJet recognises breastfeeding as being a ‘globally recognised human right’ where passengers are concerned, their position did not extend to its cabin crew.

According to Unite, the airline disregarded the advice of four GPs; failed to carry out their own risk assessments despite having a dedicated health and safety team and failed to send the women to be assessed by occupational health. Instead, managers admitted to Googling ‘breast feeding risks’ on the internet before coming up with a series of unworkable ‘solutions’ each of which involved the women suffering a significant detriment.

Following a number of grievances and an employment tribunal claim being lodged, easyJet agreed that the women could do ground duties for six months. They were unwilling to extend the time period because they considered that the women’s wish to continue breastfeeding was ‘a choice’. The union contends that in offering no solutions beyond six months, the airline was essentially making the choice for them.

Unite report that an employment tribunal found that the airline’s failure to limit each female cabin crew member’s duty days to 8 hours to allow them to express milk or to offer them ground duties whilst they continued to breastfeed amounted to indirect sex discrimination and breached the Employment Rights Act under which the airline should have reduced the breastfeeding mothers’ hours, found them alternative duties or suspended them on full pay.

Unite state that the decision is “a landmark victory… which will have wide implications for working women wishing to continue breastfeeding after their maternity leave ends” and “the days of ‘I’m going back to work so I will have to give up breastfeeding’ are over”.

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