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Menstrual Leave.

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Original post by cherryred90s

The same can be said for sick leave tbh. Anyone can say they're sick when they're not.


Which is a different kettle of fish entirely.
Original post by Lime-man
People abusing sick leave would mean that they could potentially face a disciplinary. I don't think that women should be disciplined for having a few too many painful periods, however, some sort of "period leave" for women with especially bad periods is so open to abuse that it would only damage career prospects for women as a whole.

Make up for it in the sense that they work for the hours that they missed (re: pay)


How is it 'so open to abuse'?

Yes, they work for the hours they miss and are paid.
Original post by G8D
No punishment. You are expecting special treatment.

If you attend work 10% less than your colleagues it stands to reason that over time you will be 10% less experienced or skilled than your colleagues. It makes no business or commericial sense to consider you and your colleagues equally worthy of a certain rank or wage, in this simple example at least.


No special treatment. Not being expected to turn up to work when I'm not in a fit state to isn't special treatment, it's sensible. When a person is in severe pain, they aren't fit to be at work and if they are there, they probably won't be very productive.

It's not a simple example. The number of women that this would benefit is actually quite small.

If I had a medical condition and that medical condition meant that about once a month I needed to be absent because I was ill, would it be appropriate to sack me or give me a pay cut? No?

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Original post by cherryred90s
How is it 'so open to abuse'?

Yes, they work for the hours they miss and are paid.


Because virtually every woman has a period, and therefore virtually every woman could potentially claim that they are having a bad period whenever they don't want to work. Which is why, should a system such as "menstrual leave" be in place, an employer will look at two potential candidates that are similar in ability and choose the man over the woman because the woman is now a liability.
Original post by Katty3
No special treatment. Not being expected to turn up to work when I'm not in a fit state to isn't special treatment, it's sensible. When a person is in severe pain, they aren't fit to be at work and if they are there, they probably won't be very productive.

It's not a simple example. The number of women that this would benefit is actually quite small.

If I had a medical condition and that medical condition meant that about once a month I needed to be absent because I was ill, would it be appropriate to sack me or give me a pay cut? No?

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The difference is that menstruation is not a medical condition.
Original post by Lime-man
Because virtually every woman has a period, and therefore virtually every woman could potentially claim that they are having a bad period whenever they don't want to work. Which is why, should a system such as "menstrual leave" be in place, an employer will look at two potential candidates that are similar in ability and choose the man over the woman because the woman is now a liability.


That's true of sick leave? I could theoretically ring in and say that I can't work because I'm ill when I'm fine.

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Original post by Katty3
That's true of sick leave? I could theoretically ring in and say that I can't work because I'm ill when I'm fine.

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If sick leave is abused an employee can face a disciplinary. To pay women for menstruation leave if they have a particularly bad period is an entirely different kettle of fish. Anyone can abuse sick leave, no matter who they are, however only women can abuse menstruation leave, which makes them a liability and therefore hinders their career prospects.
Original post by Lime-man
whether it should be mandatory is what people are debating.


Again I think you're misunderstanding.

People arguing that it shouldn't be mandatory are arguing against people who are saying that flexibility and the ability to use sick leave for period pain is valid.

You're arguing against a position noone is taking. Noone on this thread has advocated that there should be mandatory (or even voluntary for private employers) additional period leave on top of sick leave....a bunch of you are arguing as if people agreeing with flexible working or taking sick leave for particularly bad period pains are saying there should be legal rights to additional leave.
Original post by Lime-man
The difference is that menstruation is not a medical condition.


However it is unavoidable and uncontrollable. The only way women can stop having periods is sterilisation. Not something that many women are willing to consider and nor is it reasonable for anyone else to demand it.

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Original post by Katty3
However it is unavoidable and uncontrollable. The only way women can stop having periods is sterilisation. Not something that many women are willing to consider and nor is it reasonable for anyone else to demand it.

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Most women can appropriately deal with their periods most of the time.
Original post by Lime-man
Most women can appropriately deal with their periods most of the time.


However some women can't. It's not a choice, periods are more painful for some women than they are for others.

No, it can't be solved by just taking more painkillers or different painkillers.

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Original post by Katty3
However some women can't. It's not a choice, periods are more painful for some women than they are for others.

No, it can't be solved by just taking more painkillers or different painkillers.

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Some people are more sick than others, however sickness isn't gender specific like periods are.
Original post by offhegoes
My colleague suffered spinal injuries years ago. Every few months or so pain between discs in his back flares up and he is unable to work for a few days.

Shouldn't he be paid less too? I'm frankly furious that's whilst I'm at work he's getting paid for lying in bed at home watching daytime TV in some degree of agony.

Also I think some people at my work have described the symptoms of depression and/or stress to their doctors to get a line for time off work. This loophole surely needs to be closed too, right?


Yea nice but if sarcasm in your last two paragraphs.

The point is the back pain is covered under existing sick pay regulations however this when talking about a nationwide policy is about adding to those regulations.

You could currently call in sick for a bad period however everyone knows if you have had 20 sick days in a year your likely to get in trouble.

Like I said earlier it is very similar to depression it would be nice if they could also take a couple of unpaid days off a month outside their sick pay due to the nature of their condition too.


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Original post by Katty3
Why should I take a pay cut for my biology? It's not like I can just say "don't fancy having a period this month, I think I'll skip it." Nor can I just take stronger medication without risking overdose.

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You could say the same thing about mental health


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Original post by Lime-man
Because virtually every woman has a period, and therefore virtually every woman could potentially claim that they are having a bad period whenever they don't want to work. Which is why, should a system such as "menstrual leave" be in place, an employer will look at two potential candidates that are similar in ability and choose the man over the woman because the woman is now a liability.


Menstrual leave should really be no different to sick leave, but perhaps with tighter restrictions. For example, women should only be allowed half a day to 1 day off per month max and any extra time off should be unpaid unless they have a valid doctors note.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Lime-man
Some people are more sick than others, however sickness isn't gender specific like periods are.


Can't say gender specific these days :wink:


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Original post by paul514
Can't say gender specific these days :wink:


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I can say whatever the **** I like :tongue:
Original post by paul514
You could say the same thing about mental health


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I don't think that anyone has suggested that you shouldn't be allowed time off from work if you have a mental issue..
Original post by cherryred90s
I don't think that anyone has suggested that you shouldn't be allowed time off from work if you have a mental issue..


And people aren't saying that about periods either it's about how it is done


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Original post by x-pixie-x
Completely unreasonable to expect employers to give leave to women every month like yourself when a tablet will solve the problem which is what you're doing now.


I don't think it's unreasonable to expect my employer to give me time off if I am in so much pain I am vomiting and unable to move and my dad has to come and almost carry me out to the car - for whatever reason. I think it should either come out of my regular holiday time or be unpaid, but I shouldn't be penalised because it is a fact of my biology that that has the potential to happen once every roughly 28 days - that's not my fault. In the same way my employer can't sack me because of my fibromyalgia and the medical appointments I have to take and the times I can't walk across the room to the scanner and he has to move it closer to me because that's a disability and reasonable adjustments are being made - why aren't there reasonable adjustments for the muscle cramping that my uterus is getting up to, such as being allowed to be off and then not getting to annual review and having "Oh, well, you've got (up to) 12 extra sick days here, want to explain that, and I don't want to hear about your period".

And I can't just take a tablet to solve the problem - as shown if I have the problem its already too late for tablets because I'm vomiting, so the solution is to take a daily tablet and hope you're not one of the 1 in 5 women who don't get reduced periods when on the pill I'm on, and hope that the side effects aren't too bad, and you're stuffed if it goes against your religious beliefs or if your doctor won't let you have it because of a family history of cancer or it'll interact with another medication you're taking for another reason. What do you do then? Lose your job?

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