Nearly one year after Spain became Europe’s first country to introduce paid menstrual leave, figures suggest the policy has been taken up by relatively few women.
In the 11 months since the law was introduced, menstrual leave was taken 1,559 times, according to data from Spain’s ministry of inclusion, social security and migration.
The law allows for three days of menstrual leave per cycle for those with debilitating period symptoms, such as painful cramps, nausea, dizziness and vomiting. To apply for the paid leave, employees need to get a doctor’s note, because the bill for companies will be met by Spain’s social security system. The final version of the act limited menstrual leave to those with previously diagnosed conditions such as endometriosis.
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The ministry said: “As can be seen from the data, there has not been an avalanche of this type of temporary incapacity and its use has stabilised month by month since its implementation.”
From 1 June 2023, when the policy came into effect, to 24 April, the most recent date for which figures were available, the average leave taken spanned 3.03 days. An average of 4.75 people used the leave each day.
Critics of the act have said that “menstrual leave” is a misnomer because really what was being provided was leave caused by secondary dysmenorrhea (the medical term for period pains). But business leaders are said to be relieved that the previously feared wave of leave requests had not materialised.
Mónica Ciria, an adviser who deals with workplace problems, told the Guardian: “For women with painful periods or who have problems with menstruation, it’s a relief because you’re not going to see your pay drop and you don’t have to force yourself to go to work when you’re not well.”
She described the law as a “huge step forward” that has made a hidden condition visible.
Others have said that the apparent low take-up is caused by stigma, with women preferring the traditional “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to sickness absence approved by doctors.
The Spanish Gynaecology and Obstetrics Society estimated that about one-third of women suffer from dysmenorrhea, symptoms of which include debilitating headaches, diarrhoea and fever.
Other countries that grant menstrual leave include Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Zambia.
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