These companies embrace menstrual leave

“A few months ago, I realized that a cabinetmaker colleague was absent once a month.

It doesn't take much for Lucie Rouet, an employee of Louis Design, to put a flea in his ear.

“His rules are in fact very disabling, explains the communication manager.

She tries to cash in but goes home after two hours of work.

So, since March 8, on the occasion of International Women's Rights Day, the Toulouse start-up specializing in the manufacture of eco-responsible furniture has taken hold of this taboo.

Menstruating people can now take paid leave.

At Louis Design, to benefit from an additional paid rest day per month, nothing could be easier: “On D-Day, all you have to do is send us an email.

We have set up a monitoring table to anticipate absences and avoid delays in production, ”says Lucie Rouet, at the origin of the innovation in the start-up.

“Menstrual leave is a very strong innovative tool to show our commitment,” enthuses Thomas Devineaux, co-founder and CEO of the company.

"It's worth all the team buildings"

The initiative pleases.

Since May 1, Critizr, a company of 100 people, specializing in customer relations, has also made menstrual leave available to its employees.

Moreover, just like their spouse, they can also take sick leave in the event of a miscarriage.

"Our employees were pleasantly surprised, including the men", assures the HRD, Xavier Molinié.

Can the menstrual cycle interfere with efficacy?

Thomas Devineaux agrees: “It's counterproductive to let an employee suffer at work.

It is estimated that it costs us less to introduce leave.

And in terms of trust, it's worth all the team buildings in the world.

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Unbearable cramps, uncomfortable positions… Assia, a consultant, would also like to be able to take time off from her workplace without being afraid of the repercussions: “I have to lie down under my desk to relieve the pain.

I think my colleagues can understand that it is too disabling.

According to a 2021 Ifop poll, 68% of French women questioned would be in favor of setting up menstrual leave.

For some, the measure symbolizes acknowledgment of a pain that employers have long refused to see.

A study by OpinionWay shows that 44% of women have already missed a day of work because of their period, or know someone who has.

For others, it is the door open to new “perverse effects of discrimination and stigmatization”.

“Hide these rules that cannot be seen”

“Brakes in hiring, derogatory remarks in the office, embarrassing statements about her cycle and so on”, counts Ophélie Latil, lawyer specializing in labor law and founder of the Georgette Sand movement.

“Medical secrecy is also questioned, advances Elsa Labouret, spokesperson for the association Osez le féminisme!, it is difficult to see how employers could not have access to our data.

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For the first time in Europe, the Spanish government has just approved a draft bill including paid sick leave in the event of “invalidating” rules.

And this well after the example of South Korea, where only 1% of employees have used the menstrual leave offered without pay since 1950.

“The intention is good, but you have to start by taking into consideration the pains in the company.

A woman, like any human being, needs support in her workplace,” explains Frédérique Perrotte, midwife at Saint-Joseph Hospital in Paris.

For her, menstrual leave sends the worker's body back to "home".

"We have the impression that we are told:

", indignant Ophélie Latil.

"We need medical care and research into the causes of an illness that potentially affects 50% of the population," claims Elsa Labouret.

The activist deplores the lack of medical treatment, clinical examination for the detection of endometriosis or reimbursement of sanitary protection.

Frédérique Perrotte, for her part, favors teleworking, flexible working hours and the layout of places of activity.

For the caregiver, menstrual leave is "the tree that hides the forest of all the accumulated lack of periods".