mn should start a campaign for women to have several period days a year

[sarahighseas]

I suffer from really bad periods. My work have a policy of only paying for 3 sick days per year.

I easy use more than this just with bad periods.

Anyone else think women should get more sick days to allow for periods?

No, but I lived there for a long time.

Well my employer says if you have more than 3 days sick a year, they will have a disciplinary to review why you are going over this.

Lots of companies have this but in my experience it's there to catch those who have regular days off for no real reason (e.g. those who regularly had a Monday off after a big weekend). If you had a case of flu then you'd be over 3 days in one go, no-one would sack you for just that (assuming you're in the UK). At my work we use the return to work reviews as a chance to involve occupational health if necessary (e.g. if someone had a bad back they could get free physio, if someone had been off for a long time due to a serious illness we would plan a phased return to work, if someone had been suffering from anxiety or depression they could get free councelling etc) but no-one who had 3 random days off in a single year would be in any more trouble than being asked if they thought there was a link and it being highlighted as a 'lets watch this' situation.

What a stupid statement that Japanese eat so healthy they don't notice their periods!!

Sarah it's not as stupid as it sounds. Many period related issues are fundamentally issues of inflammation and science is becoming increasingly aware of the role that diet plays in these issues.

Obviously not all period pain is diet related and not all Japanese people eat healthily either!

Diet may well play a role, but the fact is, many Japanese women - including those who eat a traditional Japanese diet - do experience very painful periods. To claim that they barely notice their periods is just wrong!

I've only worked in the private sector in Japan, and in every company I have worked for (unlike most Japanese people, I have changed jobs a few times), if anyone was sick, they took nenkyu (their annual leave), as no byokyu (sick leave) was offered. In practice, almost nobody took their complete annual leave entitlement, as the working culture of the company pressured them not to.

DW does work in the public sector and says that she can take menstrual leave as sick days, and the organisation is obliged to grant it, but she if she took a sick day, she would then have less holiday to take. She is a rare case of insisting she gets all her annual leave, despite her boss often criticizing her for this and trying to bully her into not doing so. Fortunately, she has an uncommon skill that the company need, so they can't tread on her rights the way workers' rights very often are trodden on in Japan.

Here is the relevant article of the Japanese labor law

Article 68?When a woman for whom work during menstrual periods would be especially difficult has requested leave, the Employer shall not have said woman work on days of said menstrual period

www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail/?yo=%E5%8A%B4%E5%83%8D%E5%9F%BA%E6%BA%96%E6%B3%95&ft=2&re=02&ky=&page=1

To me, that reads as if an employer can't refuse a request for leave, rather than that leave over and above the usual leave entitlement is available. It's open to interpretation I suppose.

Yes, I think the law states that they have to grant leave, but it may be unpaid, so lots of people would probably choose to take nenkyu instead. However, it certainly used to be the case for some public sector employees that they would get paid menstrual leave. I don't know if that has now changed. As I said earlier, very few people used to take it even then.

I worked in the private sector for a short period in Japan, and for longer in the public sector. We were entitled to paid sick leave in the private sector too, but the culture was such that people preferred to take leave instead. People did take proper sick leave in the public sector though. And yes, it wasn't the done thing to take all of your annual leave in either sector - though I often did!

This link says that there is no general entitlement to sick leave in Japan

www.japan-payroll.com/japan-employee-benefits/

In general, there is no sick leave rights in Japan. When employees get sick they use their paid vacation to take leave of absence. Some foreign companies grant sick leave to their employees as a special benefit.

Unfortunately it doesn't refer to a specific article of the labor law.

Yes, I'm aware there is no legal entitlement, but some organisations do offer it (or did). In practice, I think many employers exercise some discretion in this area.

Yabu. Campaign for longer days but no not for this. What about people with long term health problems? I have severe back problems yet would have been able to take two days off a month when pain was really bad! Or people with ibs? Don't think it's fair on employers either, so they have to find cover to replace you every month.

Good god. What a weird idea.
I manage a nursery, all my staff are women.
I would have no staff if they all had time off for their periods. Who would look after the children? I have legal adult to child ratios to maintain. The nursery couldn't afford to take on extra staff to cover the period days it would go bankrupt
Plus I don't have periods as I have a coil, fitted because I suffered from heavy painful periods. I wouldn't get my days off so I would have to lie or carry on with no time off and feel resentful.
Op, just go to the gp and stop being so bloody silly.

YANBU, periods are bloody agony.....AGONY I tell you!. I have heard of such a thing that's happening in Japan so why not?. 3 days off should suffice.

I've been seriously ill with gynae pain over the years and suffered from horrendously heavy and painful periods. It's no joke and not all GPs/health systems take it seriously enough. Sometimes it is not easy to find the cause and get it treated, however hard you try. It took five years of agony and leaving my job and having to go freelance before I got my problem sorted.

Obviously, I don't think the OPs suggestion would work but when I was working full time and feeling rotten, struggling in to central London and fainting on the train, I remember envying men and thinking that they had a real advantage in the work place. (Same could be said for debilitating pregnancy symptoms too.) Not sure how one compensates for that though in reality when not all women suffer the same.