The Truth About Menstrual Leave: The 'Duty to Let Rest' and the 'Reality of Pay'
In our daily lives, we walk through society with a straight face, acting as if we are 'excellent, useful workers with no personal circumstances whatsoever.' However, once a month, or perhaps irregularly, a wave comes that relentlessly reminds us: 'Hey, don't forget. You are just a living, breathing human being with blood in your veins.'
That is menstruation.
It is quite a tall order to be told to 'smile and do your job perfectly as always' while dealing with that pain that feels like your lower abdomen is being wrung out like a dishcloth from the inside, or the sluggishness that makes it feel like a mysterious fog has settled in your brain.
That is where the 'menstrual leave' comes in—a thin talisman provided by the state.
The 'Duty to Let Rest' is the landlord's absolute promise
The power of this talisman is immense. This rule, tucked away in the somewhat stiff drawer known as Article 68 of the Labor Standards Act, says this:
'If an individual raises their hand and says, "I have a stomachache and cannot work today," the employer must let them rest without making any excuses. There is not a millimeter of room to interject with excuses like "we're busy" or "there's no one to cover for you."'
This applies exactly the same whether it is a major corporation in the heart of Tokyo or a small clinic run by people huddled together in a corner of the countryside. Whether there is only one staff member or the reception is in a panic, no one in this country has the right to force a person struck by an abdominal storm to stay tied to their desk.
Accepting the request to 'take leave' with a simple 'go ahead.' This is an 'absolute duty' that an employer cannot avoid.
The 'purse strings' depend on individual circumstances
However, the law is very well-crafted, and at the same time, very dry.
It mandated 'letting them rest.' But regarding the delicate issue of 'whether or not to pay for the time taken off,' the law looks away and whispers:
'From here on, well, decide it through mutual discussion. I won't force you to pay for time not worked.'
This is the principle of 'no work, no pay.'
Therefore, whether to make menstrual leave 'paid' (a warm system where you get paid even if you take time off) or 'unpaid' (a severe system where you can take time off but will have that time deducted) is left to the discretion of the organization's rules, in other words, its work regulations.
Just because it is unpaid does not mean the system is 'fake.' At the very least, the law firmly guarantees the peace of mind that 'you won't be fired for taking leave, and you have no reason to be scolded.'
In summary
Ultimately, menstrual leave might be something like 'proof that society has reluctantly acknowledged that humans have physical bodies.'
Even if we put aside the financial matter of whether it is paid or unpaid, the fact that an escape route—the ability to say 'I can go ahead and crawl into bed on days when I absolutely cannot move'—is paved with the concrete known as the law.
That fact itself is a modest salvation for those of us clumsily surviving each day.