Breastfeeding breaks at work, by country
What the statute gives a nursing employee during the working day. Germany and Austria say the break is paid and may not be made up later; Canada says it is unpaid, and the United States leaves it unpaid unless the employee is not relieved of duty. Spain, Germany, Japan and the United States tie the right to the age of the child (nine months, twelve months, one year), while Canada simply grants the breaks that are necessary.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
United States: federal law only. State law is not compared.
| Country | Length of break | Until child is | Paid? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 45 minutes on days of more than 4.5 hours; twice 45 minutes (or once 90) at 8 hours or more | Paid: no loss of earnings | |
| Canada | Whatever breaks are necessary to nurse or express milk | Unpaid | |
| Germany | At least 2 x 30 minutes or 1 x 60 minutes a day | 12 months after birth | Paid: no loss of pay |
| Spain | 1 hour a day, which may be split in two | 9 months (12 if both parents take it) | |
| Japan | Twice a day, at least 30 minutes each | Under 1 year old | |
| Norway | The time needed, e.g. at least 30 minutes twice a day or up to 1 hour shorter working day | Paid up to 1 hour a day in the child’s first year (days of 7 hours or more) | |
| United States | Reasonable break time each time milk must be expressed, plus a private space that is not a bathroom | 1 year after birth | Unpaid, unless the employee is not completely relieved of duty |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Mutterschutzgesetz 1979 § 9
- Covers nursing mothers in employment under the Mutterschutzgesetz. The section sets no age limit for the child.
- The break may not be worked before or after, or counted against statutory rest breaks.
Stillenden Müttern ist auf Verlangen die zum Stillen ihrer Kinder erforderliche Zeit freizugebenan Tagen, an denen die Dienstnehmerin mehr als viereinhalb Stunden arbeitet, fünfundvierzig Minuten zu betragenDurch die Gewährung der Stillzeit darf kein Verdienstausfall eintreten Canada
- Rule
- Canada Labour Code s. 181.2
- Federal-sector employees only. The section is subject to the regulations, and states no age limit for the child.
every employee who is nursing is entitled to and shall be granted any unpaid breaks necessary for them to nurse or to express breast milk Germany
- Rule
- Mutterschutzgesetz §§ 7 and 23
- The woman must ask for the time. For a continuous working day of more than eight hours the law says she should get two breaks of at least 45 minutes, or one of 90 minutes where there is no place to nurse near the workplace.
- The time is not worked before or after and does not count against statutory rest breaks.
während der ersten zwölf Monate nach der Entbindung für die zum Stillen erforderliche Zeit freizustellen, mindestens aber zweimal täglich für eine halbe Stunde oder einmal täglich für eine Stunde Durch die Gewährung der Freistellung nach § 7 darf bei der schwangeren oder stillenden Frau kein Entgeltausfall eintreten Spain
- Rule
- Estatuto de los Trabajadores art. 37.4
- The right covers workers after birth, adoption, fostering or guardianship with a view to adoption, and belongs to each parent individually. It may be swapped for a half-hour cut in working hours or accumulated in full days.
- The article states the pay consequence only for the extension: salary is reduced proportionally from nine months. It does not otherwise say whether the first nine months are paid, so that column is left blank.
las personas trabajadoras tendrán derecho a una hora de ausencia del trabajo, que podrán dividir en dos fracciones, para el cuidado del lactante hasta que este cumpla nueve mesesel periodo de disfrute podrá extenderse hasta que el lactante cumpla doce meses, con reducción proporcional del salario a partir del cumplimiento de los nueve meses Japan
- Rule
- 労働基準法 第67条
- Applies to women raising a child under one year, in addition to ordinary rest breaks. The employer may not make her work during that time. The article does not say whether the time is paid, so that column is left blank.
生後満一年に達しない生児を育てる女性は、第三十四条の休憩時間のほか、一日二回各々少なくとも三十分、その生児を育てるための時間を請求することができる Norway
- Rule
- Arbeidsmiljøloven § 12-8
- The right to the time has no age limit in the text; the first year of the child matters only for the right to pay.
- The pay right applies on working days with agreed working time of seven hours or more.
Kvinne som ammer sitt barn kan kreve den fri hun av den grunn trengeri minst en halv time to ganger daglig eller som redusert arbeidstid med inntil én time hver daghar i barnets første leveår rett til lønn inntil én time på arbeidsdager med avtalt arbeidstid sju timer eller mer United States
- Rule
- Fair Labor Standards Act 29 U.S.C. § 218d
- Federal law only. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are excused if compliance would cause undue hardship; air-carrier crewmembers are exempt. State law may require pay.
a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for such employee’s nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milkan employer shall not be required to compensate an employee receiving reasonable break time under subsection (a)(1) for any time spent during the workday for such purposeBreak time provided under subsection (a)(1) shall be considered hours worked if the employee is not completely relieved from duty during the entirety of such breakAn employer that employs less than 50 employees shall not be subject to the requirements of this section, if such requirements would impose an undue hardship Countries not in this table yet
The United Kingdom, Australia, France, the Netherlands and Sweden are left out: no ingested section states a break right for nursing employees, and this guide does not guess at their law.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Breastfeeding breaks at work, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/breastfeeding-breaks (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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