L&T Introduces Menstrual Leave Amid Controversy Over 90-Hour Workweek Remark
L&T Introduces Menstrual Leave Amid Controversy Over 90-Hour Workweek Remark
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan has announced that women employees at the company’s parent group will now be eligible for one day of menstrual leave, Livemint reported. This makes L&T one of the first in the industry to offer menstrual leave.
In 2024, Odisha became the first state in India to introduce a one-day menstrual leave policy for women in both state government and private offices. Karnataka is also considering a six-day paid menstrual leave policy a year for women in both private and public sectors.
A draft bill titled ‘The Right of Women to Menstrual Leave and Free Access to Menstrual Health Products’ is under discussion. It aims to improve work-life balance for women by addressing the physical and emotional challenges of menstruation.
The announcement of menstrual leave follows Subrahmanyan’s controversial remarks about a 90-hour workweek. Speaking to L&T employees, he had expressed his desire to make them work on Sundays as well. “I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays, to be honest. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy because I work on Sundays too,” he said.
He also commented on employees staying home on weekends, saying, “How long can you stare at your wife? How long can the wives stare at their husbands? Come on, get to the office and start working.”
L&T’s Head of HR for Domestic Operations, Sonica Muraleedharan, later clarified on LinkedIn that his words were taken out of context and were meant casually, not as a mandate.
