Karnataka High Court directs Karnataka government to implement menstrual leave policy
HR teams at registered establishments must grant one paid menstrual day monthly
Change
The Karnataka High Court directed the Karnataka government to ensure registered establishments grant one paid menstrual leave day per month to women employees aged 18–52 and to issue guidelines and administrative instructions to operationalise the entitlement uniformly across organised and unorganised sectors until a formal law is enacted.
Why it matters
Employers must integrate the monthly one‑day menstrual leave into attendance, rostering and payroll systems, removing employer discretion to deny the entitlement. State labour and administrative agencies must publish enforceable rules, circulars and administrative instructions to secure consistent application across organised and unorganised sectors.
Implications
- — HR teams at registered establishments — must immediately grant one paid menstrual leave day each month to women employees aged 18–52 — failure to implement immediately will render the employer non‑compliant with the court directive and expose it to legal enforcement risk.
- — Payroll teams and third‑party payroll processors for registered establishments — must immediately update attendance, rostering and payroll systems to record and compensate the monthly menstrual leave — omissions will create wage‑compliance risk and potential employee claims.
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