Breastfeeding as a (Non)Exclusive Right of Women in Labor Relations – the European Approach

Abstract

Summary The authors of presented article deal with the issue of breast-feeding in labor relations. The current Slovak legislation allows only women to take a breastfeeding break. The authors wonder whether the regulation in question is still efficient in the 21st century and does not cause problems rather than benefits in practice. In foreign legislation, it is standard that a man, the child’s father, can under certain conditions take a breastfeeding break. The article analyzes Slovak legal norms and compares them with Spanish, Italian and Portuguese legal regulations as well as the chosen decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding breast-feeding break. Methods of analysis, comparison and synthesis were used, which enabled the authors to form comprehensive conclusions as well as suggestions de lege ferenda. The authors’ opinion is, that the legal regulation of breastfeeding break in Slovakia needs to be amended in order to provide a father with the breastfeeding break under certain circumstances.