Extra sick days must come: nothing to do with menstrual pain in Spain

extra sick days must come
nothing to do with period pain in spain

05/17/2022, 2:12 pm

The left-wing Spanish government is expected to pass such a rule today – extra paid sick days for women with severe menstrual problems. This will be the first time in Europe. But the rule is controversial.

Working in spite of severe abdominal pain during menstruation – women in Spain should be freed from this torture in the future. This has been provided in a draft law by the Left government, which is to be officially tabled in the cabinet on Tuesday. Accordingly, Spaniards should be given the right to stay at home in such cases.

As long as the pain persists, the state should bear the cost of the loss of work, as confirmed by the ministry upon request. To be relieved from work, an affected woman should consult a doctor. Spain will be the first country in Europe to enact such a law. According to Spanish media, the draft law provides for three additional sick days per month along with continuous payment of wages in the event of menstrual problems. In case of particularly serious complaints, this quota can be increased up to five days per month by submitting a medical certificate.

In Spain – unlike Germany – wages continue to be paid in case of illness from the fourth day of incapacity for work. Employees receive 60 percent of the assessment base from the 4th to the 20th day.

So far, there have only been a few extra sick days

The initiative was spearheaded by Equal Opportunity Minister Irene Monteiro from smaller left-alternative coalition partner Unidas Podemos. “We will recognize in law the special right of women who have painful periods to sit (at work),” Monteiro, the equality minister of the left-wing Podemos party, wrote on Twitter.

The draft is to be introduced as part of a new regulation of abortion law. In the future, it will allow women over the age of 16 to have an abortion without the consent of their parents. There were reservations about the bill from the ranks of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist PSOE party.

Nadia Calvino’s Ministry of Economic Affairs warned that regulation could harm women competing for jobs. Calvino insisted that the government would never take any action that could “stigmatise women”.

Additional sick days for women with severe menstrual problems are only available in some countries outside Europe, including South Korea and Indonesia.