Online food delivery platform Swiggy on Thursday has initiated a two-day paid monthly period time-off policy for all its female delivery partners.
Upon opting for this time-off, the female delivery partners will receive a minimum earnings guarantee.
With a new slew of chances, the giant food company has opted for several other initiatives for female delivery partners. Some of the initiatives include access to vehicles, access to hygienic restrooms, and also implementation of safety measures for the delivery agents.
Vice President for Operations at Swiggy, Mihir Shah said that the discomfort from being out, on roads while menstruating is one of the under-reported reasons. Due to this reason, many women do not consider delivery to be a viable gig.
Shah took to the company blog post, and said, “To support them through any menstruation-related challenges, we’ve introduced a no-questions-asked, two-day paid monthly period time-off policy for all our regular female delivery partners.”
He further added, “This industry-first initiative gives our female DEs the option to voluntarily take time off during their menstrual cycle and be eligible for a minimum earnings guarantee during that time.”
The giant food delivery company onboarded its first female delivery partners in Pune. Over 200,00 people have been working in the firm. At Present, 1,000 women are working as delivery partner in the firm.
Shah added, “Since then we have been striving to build inclusivity and diversity across the platform with a commitment towards increasing the number of women delivery partners in Swiggy’s delivery fleet.”
Earlier, another food delivery company Zomato announced a period leave policy that allowed female employees to take leave up to 10 period days in a year. Many women either lack access to personal vehicles or driving licences. The company even plans to provide hygienic restrooms which will boost healthy work culture.
The company said that it believes in the safety of the delivery partners. Therefore measure such as ”Safe Zones” and capping delivery hours at 6 PM for female delivery partners were regulated.
Shah further added, “We’re changing that by bettering our security processes. He added, “Starting with Bengaluru where we have the highest number of women delivery partners, we’re opening up dinner slot deliveries. It will be extended to other cities after we complete training our partners there.”
