Dads in Spain entitled to breastfeeding leave!
Why has Europe's top court declared that working dads in Spain are entitled to take 'breastfeeding leave' everyday? And what is ‘breastfeeding leave’?
The idea of men taking breastfeeding leave is a new one on us. But not in Spain it seems, where a dad has just won a ruling by the European Court of Justice that he’s entitled to take ‘breastfeeding leave’.
So what actually is ‘breastfeeding leave’? - it’s the nickname given to the rules which allow Spanish mums working full time an extra hour off work during their baby’s first nine months (or half an hour extra at the start and end of their day,) to help increase bonding between a working mum and her baby.
Previously dads weren’t able to also take extra time off to spend with their newborn, but following the decision made in Luxembourg on Thursday, ruling that Spanish law causes “unjustified discrimination on grounds of sex” when it comes to ‘breastfeeding leave’. Dads are now able to apply for ‘breastfeeding leave’ too.
This change in the rules has come about after dad Pedro Manuel Roca Alvarez’s request for breastfeeding leave was denied on the grounds that the mother of his child was self-employed.
The court stated that the rules needed changing as such a refusal could force self-employed mums to limit their workload because dads can’t be there to help out.
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