Menstrual leave: what could change with the bills proposed by the left

They had been talking about it since February, the PS was ahead of them. MPs Sébastien Peytavie (Generation. s), Sandrine Rousseau (EELV) and Marie-Charlotte Garin (EELV) are due to table this Friday a bill to introduce menstrual leave for female employees in France, sixteen days after the socialist deputies tabled a similar text. An update was provided on what is contained in the two proposals.

Texts that provide for sick leave of 13 days per year

These bills revolve around one main measure: the introduction for employees of the public service of a menstrual leave of 13 days per year, in the form of a medical certificate issued by a health professional giving the right to a work stoppage. The judgment allows the persons concerned to be compensated without waiting period and the consultation that gives rise to its delivery is fully covered by the Health Insurance, provide for both texts.

In detail, the PS proposal provides that the leave may not exceed two days per month. That of the Generation MPs. s and EELV allows beneficiaries to dispose of it according to their needs, and the work stoppage may be renewed once a year on an exceptional basis, "in the most serious cases".

In case of pain related to menstruation, employees will also be able to ask to be teleworking on the days concerned, propose the two texts, without this affecting their right to take menstrual leave elsewhere, if they are not able to work.

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Finally, socialists and environmentalists include menstrual health and inherent issues as an object of collective bargaining for companies and sectoral branches. Clearly, it will be possible to provide in collective agreements for more favourable conditions for the application of menstrual leave than those provided for by law.

However, there is no question for the two left camps to go to war with each other: "There is absolutely no competition between us, we exchanged in complete transparency. The bill that will find its way will be supported by the other group, "assures the Parisian Sébastien Peytavie, deputy of the 4th constituency of Dordogne.

Online stops, on the model of Covid-19

The bill carried by MP Sébastien Peytavie and his EELV colleagues is intended to be "ambitious, applicable and realistic", he says. Because to respect medical confidentiality in case of recourse to menstrual leave, it was necessary to unlock the problem of anonymity: "In a large company, human resources take care of laying the day, and your boss or your colleagues do not know the reasons for your absence. In a small company where the boss is also HRD, it's more complicated, "explains the MP Génération.s.

Thus, menstrual leave would work on the same model with Social Security as during Covid-19: when a person had a positive test, he could generate online on Ameli a work stoppage. The same system would be applied for menstrual leave, after the granting of the medical certificate entitling the holder to 13 days of annual leave. If necessary, the persons concerned could then generate and transmit the judgment to their employer.

Beyond "raising awareness on the issue", the text it also aims to protect women from any discrimination related to their menstrual situation, "whether in terms of recruitment, training, remuneration or career development".

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Article 7 of the bill includes "menstrual and gynecological health in the prerogatives of action of occupational medicine through the accompaniment, guidance and medical follow-up of employees and public employees", but also "assistance in the adaptation of their workstation".

The PS asks for five days of leave in case of miscarriage

The bill proposed by the Socialist Party also provides for five days of leave in the event of spontaneous termination of pregnancy (miscarriage), without a waiting day for employees, but also their spouses.

A measure that Sébastien Peytavie did not wish to take up alongside Sandrine Rousseau and Marie-Charlotte Garin: the latter had already carried a text on the subject, which had not met with the support of the majority. "There, we try to open a path," summarizes Sébastien Peytavie, stressing that questions around menopause and abortion are also part of the concerns of the deputies.

A measure already implemented in cities and companies

These bills arrive before the National Assembly while the subject seems more and more important for companies and communities. After companies took the plunge in 2021, large groups or structures are also getting involved, such as the Socialist Party or the city of Saint-Ouen, in Seine-Saint-Denis. On the side of the City of Paris, Anne Hidalgo asked in April the authorization to Elisabeth Borne to implement a similar measure.

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A few days earlier, it was the Carrefour brand that had in turn announced in our columns a plan to take care of the menstrual health of employees, with twelve days of annual leave in case of endometriosis, three in case of miscarriage and one in case of ART. "I didn't think society would take up the subject so easily," says Sébastien Peytavie.

If one of the two bills is passed, however, France would not be the first country to legislate on menstrual leave. On the other side of the Pyrenees, Spanish MPs adopted a law to this effect in mid-February, a first in Europe. Many countries such as South Korea, Indonesia or Zambia have similar measures, as does Japan, a pioneer in this area since the law has existed since 1947... but provides for leave without pay.