UK company set to give female workers paid ‘period leave’ every month

A couple of female workers at Coexist

A UK company is set to create a 'period policy' to give long-suffering women time off work during their monthly cycle. The new initiative aims to tap into female staff's 'natural rhythms' in order to create a happier and more productive work environment - and it could be a UK first. Company director Bex Baxter, who employs 31 staff - seven male - at the social community group Coexist, wants to change the stigma around 'women's issues'. 
Bex, 40, said: 'I have managed many female members of staff over the years and I have seen women at work who are bent over double because of the pain caused by their periods.
'Despite this, they feel they cannot go home because they do not class themselves as unwell.
'And this is unfair. At Coexist we are very understanding. If someone is in pain - no matter what kind - they are encouraged to go home.
But, for us, we wanted a policy in place which recognizes and allows women to take time for their body's natural cycle without putting this under the label of illness.'
Bristol-based Coexist employs mostly women and wants to acknowledge the monthly pain many experience - and hopefully increase workplace productivity.
Bex said: 'There is a misconception that taking time off makes a business unproductive - actually it is about synchronizing work with the natural cycles of the body. For women, one of these is their menstrual cycles. Naturally, when women are having their periods they are in a winter state, when they need to regroup, keep warm and nourish their bodies.
'The spring section of the cycle, immediately after a period is a time when women are actually three times as productive as usual.'
Bex says it's a cause close to her heart as she too suffers from bad cramps every month.
She continued: 'My team here have always been very generous - I've been able to take time off when I've needed it, but always put it back in again. But until now there haven't been any formal guidelines.'
The idea has been welcomed enthusiastically by staff of both genders. But 'period policies' are no new thing. Menstrual leave began in Japan in 1947 and other countries including South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia also have laws in place allowing women to take time off work when they are on their period. Most recently, the Chinese province Anhui has agreed to give women paid monthly leave if they produce a doctor's letter. And sportswear giant Nike is thought to be the only worldwide company to officially include menstrual leave as part of their Code of Conduct, reports Daily Mail.