Go vegan or work hungry? Mandatory employee meals and sustainability in European labour law

Among the Member States of the European Union, Slovakia is the only jurisdiction that imposes a general statutory obligation on all employers to provide employee meals. While labour law regulates when this obligation arises and how it may be fulfilled, there is no regulation of the meals provided. This legislative omission has received little scholarly attention, despite the growing importance of sustainable food systems in European Union law following the adoption of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy. Using doctrinal legal research and a comparative analysis of selected European Union Member States, this article examines whether, where labour law imposes a statutory obligation to provide employee meals, it should regulate not only the existence of that obligation but also the minimum standards for employee meals. The analysis shows that Member States adopt different legal models of employee meals. The article argues that, where labour law already requires employers to provide employee meals, the existing obligation should be supplemented by minimum statutory standards reflecting current scientific knowledge concerning healthy nutrition and the objectives of sustainable food systems. Such an approach may also reduce the risk of indirect discrimination against employees who cannot or choose not to consume certain foods because of their religion, health conditions or ethical beliefs, while preserving sufficient flexibility for Member States and employers.