Karnataka’s Menstrual-Leave Policy: A Progressive Step with loopholes and legal challenges

-Lavanya G

3rd year law student,

NMIMS School of Law Bengaluru.

The discussions and the importance of recognizing menstrual health at work places as not just mere access to basic facilities, has evolved into a broader focus on inclusive well-being, equity and fairness. In November 2025, Karnataka moved the needle on workplace well- being, by approving and enforcing a state-wide applicable policy: named as the Menstrual Leave Policy 2025, that grants one paid menstrual leave per month, amounting to a total of 12 paid menstrual leaves a year.

Why this matters?

Menstrual leave policies embody two aspects:

• The physical health needs of a majority of working women

• The long-standing stigma associated that forces women to more often than not hide or unreasonably bear the discomfort at work.

This policy is of vital importance today as it recognizes that menstruation is not a mere physical characteristic or discomfort, but rather a health issue for several women that has the tendency to impair their productivity and general well-being, thereby forcing them to take unpaid leaves. Therefore, this policy reduces the pressure on women and forecasts an organizational commitment to gender-sensitive approaches; and such approaches are the need of the hour as more and more women have entered the workforce with jobs and responsibilities that demand efforts beyond capacity.

Several companies and HR agencies have also affirmed that such policies when introduced improves employee-employer trust and transparency, boosts their morale and reduces absenteeism, thereby promoting the over-all work culture and economy.

Key Features

The Government Order No: KE 466 LET-2023 dated November 12, 2025, has made Karnataka the first state in India to enforce menstrual leave policy for women in the age groups of 12-52, across all establishments in the state, from private sectors to public and government organizations, factories, MNC’s, outsourced or contractual jobs, etc. Such establishments may be registered under:

• The Factories Act 1948

• The Karnataka shops and Commercial Establishment Act 1961

• The plantation Labour Act 1951

• The Beedi and Cigar workers Act 1966

• Motor Transport workers Act 1961.

The key feature of this policy is that the menstrual leave is in addition to the pre-existing statutory or permitted leave benefits to the women workforce, which can only be altered by future government directives.

Further, women employees can begin to avail the paid leaves right from the order date of 12 th November 2025. Women employees are only required to notify their manager or HR and there is no mandate to take any pre-approval from them. The policy also highlights that a medical certificate is not required for a single day statutory menstrual leave taken by women.

This is because women need to be ensured of their right to privacy and to allow them to avail the benefit without explicitly stating their reasons.

These progressive steps have been welcomed by advocates, activists as well as HR managers as it contributes towards a more humane and dignifies work environment. Further, beyond legal obligations, every organization has the moral duty to create and maintain a respectful and inclusive work culture regardless of the region and type of work.

From an employee’s standpoint, this policy is a step towards recognition as well as relief as it reduces ad hoc absenteeism and encourages women to be more vocal of their needs while also catering to the demands of the industry.

Challenges and Loopholes

Although the state-level policy is expected to bring about a major shift towards gender- inclusivity, it yet raises significant and practical questions and challenges regarding its application and the possible implication.

Firstly, Karnataka is the only state to have implemented the menstrual leave policy. This creates a region-based discrimination as such paid leaves applies only to the women in Karnataka and nowhere else. For instance, if a private company has its offices in multiple states, only the women working in the Karnataka offices have the right to avail the paid leaves. However, women working for the same company but at different locations face inequity within people working in the same organization. A key argument is that women’s health requirements do not change with geography and such a policy, when restricted to only a particular region erodes the principles of Article 14 and 15 that guarantees equality and non-discrimination.

Secondly, the policy is an enabling order, which only requires every organization to implement the paid menstrual leave policies, because it is a general governmental order issued under its statutory authority and not under any labour codes. Therefore, it is still unclear and ambiguous if the policy has a broad scope to mandate the policy’s implementation and create penal consequences due to non-adherence. Since there is no mention of consequences or penalties, it can lead to variation and inconsistencies within the state.

Several organizations such as the Bengaluru Hotel Associations (BHA) have filed petitions before the courts challenging the policy on the grounds that it imposes unreasonable burden on the employers. They have also highlighted the possibility of misuse by many women, which might lead to absenteeism and delayed growth.

Conclusion

Karnataka’s policy is a symbolic step towards achieving equity that provides the organizations to revisit their policies and re-route it to strengthen the well-being of women. But at the same time, it raises several unanswered legal questions that hinders the applicability of the policy, thereby undermining the very purpose of the policy. Therefore, while the policy’s intent is clear, there are still gaps that needs to be addressed.