Men do not breastfeed - or do they?

A ruling by the European Court of Justice has established that fathers are also entitled to breastfeeding leave, regardless of whether the mother is employed or self-employed.

 

If national provisions differentiate between men’s and women’s entitlement to leave and if the national courts are in doubt as to whether the provisions are compatible with EU law, the question can be referred to the European Court of Justice. That is what happened in this case.

 

In Spain, women employees are entitled to 1 hour’s absence a day during the first 9 months after childbirth to breastfeed their child. If both parents are employees, the father can take the ‘breastfeeding’ leave instead of the mother.

 

A new father requested breastfeeding leave, but the request was denied by his employer because the mother of his child was not an employee – she was self-employed. The mother was therefore not entitled to breastfeeding leave and could not transfer the entitlement to the father. The father brought the matter before a Spanish court. Before ruling in the matter, however, the Spanish court decided to make a preliminary reference to the ECJ to clarify if the Spanish provisions are compatible with the EU principle of equal treatment of men and women.

 

Men are also entitled
The ECJ ruled that the Spanish provisions conflict with the EU Directive on equal treatment of men and women. The ECJ found that the provisions favour employed mothers and that fathers are given a secondary role in relation to being a parent. Accordingly, the provisions discriminate against male employees.