A Dubai Advocate Has Started A Debate Around Menstrual Leave For Women
Dubai-based journalist and self-love advocate, Danae Mercer, is known for being supremely candid on social media about all things related to body image and fads surrounding the same. For her, it’s all about busting unrealistic body expectations and exposing the REALITY behind all the photoshop and face tuning that manipulates our perception of beauty standards.
Not one to shy away from bold topics, Danae is once again creating a stir on social media with her recent post on ‘menstrual leaves’. With the post displaying an insensitive response towards menstruations from a male perspective, it highlights how the corporate world is still far from adopting a more versatile work culture for women.
“Y’all can control your cycles, I know y’all can… Be a professional no matter how bad the pain is.”
The post tells women to “turn it [perids] off before coming to work”.
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Danae captioned her post saying, “We have to talk about periods. Honestly. Openly. Without shame.”
She further retorted,
“…these men, who perhaps have been told almost nothing about periods their whole lives,
Are often the ones making decisions that impact ours.
So it’s time we talked.
Without shame.
Without embarrassment.
To each other.
And to them too.
Owning with each word, each conversation,
The marvel that is our body.”
The response to this was incredible! Women shared their struggles of being belittled and ridiculed for asking for sick leaves to deal with their period pains
One user, hollyandflora commented saying:
“I have had to lie… to stay home from work because it was more socially acceptable to stay home due to saying I was “throwing up” or having stomach flu than to say I was debilitated on the floor with cramps that were out of my immediate control.”
This really raises the question of how much is being done for the women workforce in the UAE
…With companies more open to trial various methods of work and or incentives to increase productivity and boost employee morale (such as trial 3-day weekends), this conversation may just alert organizations to introduce the option of WFH for women once a month, to allow them the space and deal with their pains. This not only minimizes the number of sick leaves but also promotes a healthy and supportive work environment for women employees.
The UAE doesn’t have regulations for ‘menstrual leaves’ per se, but companies are obligated to provide a sick leave of not more than 90 days per year
According to The United Arab Emirates’ Government portal, an employee is entitled to a sick leave of not more than 90 days per year, only after the probation period has been completed.
The 90 days sick leave can be continuous or intermittent, and the salary is paid as follows:
- full pay for the first 15 days
- half pay for the next 30 days
- no pay for the rest of 45 days
Notifying your employer of a sick leave
According to Article 82 of the UAE Labour Law, as amended, the employee must notify the employer about his sickness within maximum two days. The employer has the right to put the employee under a medical examination in order to verify the illness, and the authenticity of the employee’s leave.
The employer is entitled to request the employee to present a medical report, which justifies the employee’s absence and the calculation of the entitlement of the pay.
Ineligibility for a paid sick leave
The employee is ineligible for a paid sick leave in the following situations:
- during the probation period
- if the illness directly arises from the misconduct of the worker, such as the consumption of alcohol or narcotics
- if the employee works for another employer during the sick leave.
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