Menstrual Leave.

Original post by paul514

It's absolutely outrageous!

What about women who don't have periods? Women who keep taking the pill and don't have a period? Pregnant women? Post menopausal women?

And oh yea.... Men!

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A day off because you're having severe period pain isn't the same as taking a free day off just for the fun of it. Most people who have serious period pain would much rather be at work than be at home feeling like there's a burning rod being pushed through their internal organs. Even a bad or dull day at work is nothing compared to how periods can make you feel. A bad period day is much harder work than work, so I don't think people without periods or with trouble free periods should feel jealous as though they're missing out.

Reply 62

Fickschlitten

1

Real example that Third Wave Feminism is an utter joke and needs to be annihilated.

Reply 63

Original post by cherryred90s

This would only apply to women who do have periods and are in a lot of pain..
Pregnant women would likely still have to take some days off for things like morning sickness/body aches/doctors appointments.
Not sure what you're getting at here

Pregnant women taking time off is a different matter and none of the above are legislated for she would simply take a sick day or a few hours off.

The point is periods would be legislated for and all the examples I have would be discriminated against

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Reply 64

Original post by Tiger Rag

The pill doesn't always stop periods. I went on the pill because I was getting migraine when I was on my period. I then had a period as normal. I then had 3 periods in 4 weeks.

Enjoy a month off then

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Reply 65

Original post by mscaffrey

A day off because you're having severe period pain isn't the same as taking a free day off just for the fun of it. Most people who have serious period pain would much rather be at work than be at home feeling like there's a burning rod being pushed through their internal organs. Even a bad or dull day at work is nothing compared to how periods can make you feel. A bad period day is much harder work than work, so I don't think people without periods or with trouble free periods should feel jealous as though they're missing out.

And regardless of it being grossly unfair to all the people I already mentioned it totally won't be abused

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Reply 66

Tiger Rag

22

Original post by paul514

Enjoy a month off then

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and 3 weeks of periods. Yes, because of course, that's just bloody wonderful. :rolleyes:

You're also assuming that my employer would allow that.

Reply 67

Original post by Fickschlitten

Real example that Third Wave Feminism is an utter joke and needs to be annihilated.

Equality involves each gender being taken equally seriously and being given conditions within which they can thrive. The fact is if cis men were the people who had periods we would have had allowances built into workplaces and the law long before now, because men as a whole have always had the power and I couldn't see them just ignoring their period each month. I wish people who have never experienced a period, let alone a heavy/painful one, would listen to people who have had periods before saying stupid things. The amount of people in everyday life who have to put up with an unbelieving partner or family is bad enough, ignorant opinions on a student forum just add to the frustration (not referring to just your comment, but the comments by other people on here who have never experienced a period and yet somehow know what should be done for people who do experience them - feminism is about giving a voice to the people who actually experience something and other people listening to those voices and making decisions and allowances based on those voices rather than people who just have uninformed opinions).

Reply 68

Original post by paul514

And regardless of it being grossly unfair to all the people I already mentioned it totally won't be abused

Posted from TSR Mobile

Sick leave is abused, but we still have it. And it's not unfair to the people you already mentioned. If you don't have a period you don't need the time 'off' (fyi sitting on the toilet/rolling around on your bed all day isn't really time off and it's definitely not something to be enjoyed) for it. Having a painful or heavy period is not fun. Having a painful or heavy period is unfair.

Reply 69

Original post by Tiger Rag

and 3 weeks of periods. Yes, because of course, that's just bloody wonderful. :rolleyes:

You're also assuming that my employer would allow that.

So you say, 3 weeks of periods.

Your employer would be legislated against to put up with that.

Surely you can see the holes and inequality this legislation would create?

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Reply 70

Original post by mscaffrey

Sick leave is abused, but we still have it. And it's not unfair to the people you already mentioned. If you don't have a period you don't need the time 'off' (fyi sitting on the toilet/rolling around on your bed all day isn't really time off and it's definitely not something to be enjoyed) for it. Having a painful or heavy period is not fun. Having a painful or heavy period is unfair.

And who constitutes have a painful period?
What proof do they have?
Do yours last two days or seven days?

And..... As that is impossible to prove as it's subjective enjoy the system being abused.

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Reply 71

Rakas21

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Women should attempt to schedule their holiday pay periods around their periods, for times when these don't sync they should not expect to be paid on the days they take off.

All in all, this is somewhat ridiculous and i'm pretty alarmed that the article suggests it's been greeted by men at the company, they are actively choosing to do more work for the same pay.

Reply 72

emilyjc17

13

My periods are often bloody terrible (happy accident) and sometimes I can't even get out of bed nevermind to lectures. The first two days of a period are the worst and I'd feel a lot better about starting work somewhere where they'd be OK with this and understanding. I think it's a good idea for women like me. I don't think the policy would be abused, it could be verified that you do suffer with quite a lot of pain with a doctors note or something like that.

For the record, I see a lot of really silly 'feminist' campaigns that don't spark my interest what-so-ever but I really don't think this is one of them. I do think this is something worth looking into and considering, - there's a whole lot of working women out there that would benefit immensely from this policy. I mean, we sortof ignore periods as a society like they don't really happen, but they do.Some of us suffer immensely and if guys knew what it was truly like, I'm sure they'd be a lot more empathizing! And it would be good if there were provisions for that in the working world, which we need really, being that the western world we live in now is a much more equal and opportunistic one for women than it ever was before. Surely that's a positive thing.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 73

PQ

It's not even time off that this company is talking about - it's flexible working and having a policy that states up front that using flexitime to work around period pains is acceptable.

The number of people leaping to take offence at this without taking 5 minutes to look at what they're offended by is ridiculous.

Reply 74

Original post by paul514

And who constitutes have a painful period?
What proof do they have?
Do yours last two days or seven days?

And..... As that is impossible to prove as it's subjective enjoy the system being abused.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Well, on this thread what is actually being spoken about is a company that has introduced menstrual leave (not legislation as you say in a post above). It's a relatively small company and I imagine the people working there are happy (you're more likely to be happy if your boss trusts you and understands that sometimes you'll have days where it's simply not good for you to be at work, either for yourself or for the company). Therefore, in this case, I'm guessing the boss isn't asking for proof. It is difficult to provide proof of pain, whether we're talking about periods or something else - there has to be a level of trust between an employer and their employee. As someone has already mentioned in this thread, if it seems that a system is being abused then it's a disciplinary matter. If someone was regularly taking a full 7 days off a month I doubt that would be tolerated, and medical evidence (in the form of consultation with a GP) would definitely be sought.

A few people who have periods have commented on this thread, saying that their worst day of pain is usually just the one day (or maybe two). An employer who started this kind of policy would know that one or two days of serious pain or heavy bleeding is the average and would probably keep a closer eye on people taking more days off than they think is necessary. Some people do have pain or heavy bleeding for a longer period of time, but often they have a diagnosed (or diagnosable) condition, which I imagine will be dealt with in the same way as any other chronic illness is dealt with at work.

For someone who has, I assume, never experienced a period you seem to have a lot of very strong opinions about this.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 75

Original post by Rakas21

Women should attempt to schedule their holiday pay periods around their periods, for times when these don't sync they should not expect to be paid on the days they take off.

All in all, this is somewhat ridiculous and i'm pretty alarmed that the article suggests it's been greeted by men at the company, they are actively choosing to do more work for the same pay.

Like I've already said on this thread, most people who have painful/heavy periods would rather be in work than off work and feeling like ****. The men at this company sound reasonable and wonderful. They appear to recognise that being without pain and heavy bleeding makes them lucky, they recognise that the women they work with are happier and healthier and more productive when their issues are being taken seriously, and they understand that while they may be working one or two days a month more for the same money they are working to their full capacity just as those who take menstrual leave are working to their full capacity.

As for syncing holiday time with periods...I don't even know where to begin. Would you be okay with scheduling a holiday for the time when you felt at your worst? Being in pain and bleeding is bad enough when you're at home never mind trying to relax or travel. And many women can't predict their period exactly. Even if you're just a few days late every month by the time your holiday comes around, which you scheduled 6 months in advance, you've probably managed to unsync your period and your holiday time.

Reply 76

Lime-man

16

I kind of feel for the women in this instance and their position is quite understandable, so I don't understand all the comments like "this is outrageous".

However, there is a point on the legitimacy, and anyone who says that it won't be abused is very naive, so I'd support something that states that a woman can take unpaid leave on her menstrual period without being disciplined, but I don't support paid leave which is open to abuse, and rather unfair in all honesty.

Reply 77

Rakas21