July 8, 2025
Posted in: Certified Employer Training
Families and Babies (F.A.B) becomes the first UK organisation to offer structured training and certification for HR teams creating breastfeeding-friendly workplaces.
A landmark initiative from UK charity Families and Babies (F.A.B) is set to redefine how employers support breastfeeding employees in the workplace. Launching on 14 July 2025, the F.A.B Certified Breastfeeding Friendly Employers Package is the first structured programme of its kind in the UK, offering comprehensive training for HR teams and Senior Managers. The course is currently undergoing CPD UK Accreditation.
The programme has been developed in direct response to recent high-profile tribunal rulings that have highlighted the legal and reputational risks employers face when failing to meet their obligations to breastfeeding employees. In 2021, Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust was ordered to pay £90,000 to a healthcare worker after failing to provide appropriate space for her to express milk. A separate tribunal involving EasyJet found that the company had indirectly discriminated against breastfeeding staff by refusing to offer flexible schedules, ultimately forcing employees to reduce hours and lose income.
These rulings make clear that employers must take active, informed steps to protect and support breastfeeding mothers at work, and F.A.B’s programme is designed to help them do exactly that.
The six-week course delivers practical training, legal context and cultural insight, and is structured to enable HR teams to begin offering meaningful support as early as pregnancy notification. The aim is to ensure that employees are informed about their options and feel supported throughout their breastfeeding journey, long before maternity leave begins and well after they return to work.
Through policy development, facilities audits, manager training and peer-reviewed best practice, organisations will be guided on how to create inclusive environments that comply with legislation and empower returning parents. The training also supports internal CSR, DE&I and wellbeing goals, while offering measurable social impact reporting.
The course is designed for organisations with 500 or more employees and is delivered flexibly in person or online. The package is priced at £25,000 with no limit on the number of participants joining from each organisation that joins. For a limited time, F.A.B is offering the first 15 organisations to sign up a Founding Partner for £12,500, a discount of 50 percent, including complimentary access to its Charity Patron Package and eSUB support, collectively worth over £17,000.
Chair of Trustees at F.A.B, Elaine Edwards, said:
“This is more than training, it’s a proactive, reputational safeguard and a moral responsibility. The tribunal rulings involving EasyJet and Cardiff NHS show just how damaging it can be when organisations fail to support breastfeeding staff. Our certification helps employers take action, reducing risk, improving staff retention, and creating a culture where working parents thrive.”
Supporting data reveals that 80 percent of mothers in the UK stop breastfeeding earlier than they intend, often due to work-related pressures. At the same time, one in five women returning from maternity leave report feeling disengaged at work, with lack of support commonly cited as a contributing factor.
The F.A.B programme helps employers address these issues while aligning with their social purpose. Participating organisations not only demonstrate their commitment to employee wellbeing—they also directly support a registered charity with more than 21 years of experience providing breastfeeding support across the UK.
Organisations that join the programme receive official certification, communications assets, and inclusion in F.A.B’s Employer of Impact and Partner Showcase. The first cohort begins in July 2025, with places limited to the first 15 employers who confirm before the deadline of 15 July.
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