With menstrual health policies on the horizon, can menstrual leave be far behind?
According to a survey from public service union Fórsa, currently just one per cent of employees have a menstrual health policy in their workplace.
The union is calling for employers to do more to address stigma and other issues around menstrual health through “period- and menopause-friendly policies” in workplaces across the economy.
Over 70 per cent of respondents said they had taken time off work because of their periods, but only four-in-ten of those had felt able to tell their line manager the real reason.
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Almost all (96 per cent) of the 1,800 respondents favoured the introduction of a menstrual-friendly policy in their workplace.
The union says women would welcome measures like access to flexible work arrangements, improved training for supervisors and line managers and action to address deep-seated stigma.
The research also revealed that taboos around menstrual issues are preventing women from talking to their line managers about health problems associated with periods and menopause.
Over 70 per cent of those who worked at home during the pandemic found that remote working improved their experience of menstruation.
Speaking at the launch of the survey Fórsa’s equality officer, Ashley Connolly, said the issue was vital to the wellbeing and productivity of women workers.
“Remote working and other flexible work arrangements are key to a healthier, happier and more productive working life for many, many women,” says Connolly. “And it has broader consequences for the way sick leave is consumed by thousands of women across the country. This conversation needs to start, and we need to deliver results for women quickly.”
Earlier this year the Spanish Government became the first European administration to consider a legal right to menstrual leave, with a draft law that would allow up to three days’ leave per month.
Speaking in a personal capacity as a former HR practitioner, human resources consultant Gillian Harford welcomes the advent of menstrual health policies. “It is a really positive step that society is comfortable talking about the normal life of 50 per cent of the population. Anything we can do to remove a sense of shame, or hiddenness, about this topic is so important in terms of the wellbeing of all our employees,” she says.
She believes it is a topic that should fall under an organisation’s overall wellness policy, rather than its diversity and inclusion policy, and should be communicated in a way that does not promote a negative view about women’s abilities.
“Do I think it’s good that organisations have menstrual and menopause policies? Yes,” she says. “But should they be managed as part of DNI? No. It’s part of wellbeing,” she says.
There is evidence of growing awareness of the value of menstrual health policies among employers. “We are certainly hearing of more organisations bringing them in, but we haven’t yet seen companies going down the route of offering menstrual leave,” says Mary Connaughton, director of CIPD Ireland, the professional body for HR practitioners.
She believes employers should be flexible if people need time off but should not “medicalise menstruation”. Instead, they should have an open culture wherein individuals can have a conversation with their manager or employer and come up with workarounds, such as making up for lost time at a later date.
“Rather than offering blanket leave, we recommend a flexible approach,” explains Connaughton. “Having a menstrual health policy is good because it shows you recognise and support that this is an ongoing experience women have. And sometimes male managers might not feel comfortable talking about this topic, so having a policy in place can help individuals to open up those conversations.”
Frank Brennan, chief executive of Republic of Work, a co-working centre in Cork, introduced a menstrual health policy earlier this year. It allows for working from home as well as menstrual leave that doesn’t count as a sick day, and has been a win-win for the organisation and its staff.
“It’s a policy to provide staff with a more comfortable work environment when suffering from menstrual pain,” he says. Allowing staff to work from home if they prefer, or take a day off if the pain is too great, has actually reduced absenteeism and increased staff retention.
“It’s an additional work bonus,” he says.
