Pay & working terms · 2 min read
Breastfeeding at work in Kenya: lactation rooms and paid breaks
What the Health Act requires of employers for nursing mothers: a lactation station, paid breaks of up to an hour a day, and how to ask for them.
Coming back to work after maternity leave often means leaving a baby who is still breastfeeding. Kenya's Health Act, 2017 gives nursing employees two concrete rights at work. Here they are, with a short way to raise them with your employer.
A lactation station
Section 71 of the Health Act says all employers shall establish lactation stations in the workplace, equipped with hand washing facilities, a refrigerator or other cooling, electrical outlets for breast pumps, a small table and comfortable seats.
The station may not be in the toilets (section 71(2)), and employers must keep infant formula marketing out of it (section 71(3)).
Paid breaks
Employers must give nursing employees break intervals, on top of normal meal breaks, to breastfeed or express milk (section 72(1)). The time includes getting to and from the lactation station and counts as paid working time, up to a total of one hour for every eight hours worked (section 72(2)).
How to raise it
- Before you return from maternity leave, write to HR asking where the lactation station is and how breaks will be scheduled.
- Agree times that fit your shift, and ask for them in writing.
- If there is no station, point HR to section 71 of the Health Act and suggest a private room that meets it.
Sources and further reading
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Frequently asked questions
Do Kenyan employers have to provide a lactation room?
Yes. Section 71 of the Health Act, 2017 requires all employers to establish lactation stations, not located in toilets.
Are breastfeeding breaks paid in Kenya?
Yes. Under section 72 they count as paid working time, up to one hour in every eight hour working period.