THE SNP have agreed they will introduce a policy to allow women paid menstrual leave in an independent Scotland.
A resolution asking the party’s conference to agree women should be handed paid time off work if they are suffering from extreme period symptoms – physical or mental - was passed unanimously.
The issue is currently tied to sick leave as a reserved matter, but the party has now committed to the policy should Scotland become an independent nation.
Paid menstrual leave has already been implemented in countries including Taiwan and Japan, and the Spanish Government has proposals to introduce it.
The commitment to the policy comes after Scotland became the first country in the world to protect in law the right to free period products, with councils and education providers now legally required to make products available free of charge to anyone who needs them.
SNP MP Anum Qaisar, who moved the resolution and sits on Westminster's Women and Equalities Committee, said the paid menstrual leave policy will subvert the idea people should work through severe symptoms.
She told the conference: “The policy goes far beyond providing sick leave. It encompasses an opportunity for Scotland to change the direction for women’s rights in the workplace.
“It will contribute to breaking the stigma surrounding periods in the workplace and wider society.
“It would see the unspoken struggle brought to the forefront of employment policy. It would subvert the expectation people should work through severe symptoms.
“A survey found one in six working women have never experienced pain bad enough to affect their work, meaning five in six have. Not only do we need radical policy reform to help those affected, but to change the societal norm of working through severe pain.”
Qaisar is running a separate campaign calling for the UK Government to introduce a paid menstrual leave policy and said she is gaining cross-party support.
The West Fife and Coastal Villages Branch suggested the original wording of the resolution – which only mentioned period pain – should be changed to ensure it encompassed all symptoms experienced by women on their period.
This was overwhelmingly accepted and the resolution passed as amended.
Victoria Hanlon, who spoke on the amendment, said: “I wanted to point out that while pain is an enormous problem, there are also other things that can affect women who are menstruating like headaches and vomiting, feinting, and the mental health side of things too.
“These things impact people. We cannot expect people to continue to work and function when they are experiencing extreme symptoms."
