The Supreme Court (SC) of India has refused to entertain the Menstrual Leave policy PIL for girl students and working women seeking directive to all the state governments to frame rules for menstrual pain leaves for female students and working-class women at their respective workplaces.
The PIL was filed under section 14 of the Maternity Benefit Act, of 1961 and was filed by Advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi. The supreme court initially agreed to hear the PIL.
“The provisions of the Act have made it mandatory for employers to grant paid leave to its women employees for a certain number of days during her pregnancy, in case of miscarriage, for tubectomy operation, and also in case of illness as well as medical complications arising out of these stages of maternity,” said the plea said.
The Supreme Court (SC) bench which comprised justices Y Chandrachud, P S Narasimha, and J B Pardiwala said, “Having regard to the policy views, it would be appropriate if the petitioner approaches the women and child development ministry. The petition is accordingly disposed of.”
The PIL has been rejected for the students the bench finding suggests that if employers are compelled to grant menstrual pain leaves to women employees every month then it may discourage them from hiring female workforce.
“We did not entertain this but he has a point. If you compel employers to grant menstrual leave, it may disincentivize them from hiring women. Also, this is clearly a policy matter…So, we are not dealing with this”, the court added.
In India, there are a few companies that have already implemented Menstrual Leaves including:-
- AU Small Finance Bank has announced Menstrual leaves for female employees. The bank will provide one day of additional paid leave starting February 2023.
- Orient Electric Limited has introduced menstrual leaves for its women employees as part of its commitment to building a more diverse and inclusive work culture.
- AntMyErp has announced a 3-day Menstrual Leave for Women employees in the company. The implemented Menstrual Leave for Women employees effective from July 1, 2022.
However, there are a few countries including the United Kingdom, China, Wales, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, Spain, and Zambia are already providing menstrual pain leave in one form or the other.
