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The Carrefour group announces it: from this year, employees affected by endometriosis, miscarriage or PMA will be able to benefit from several days of paid leave. Recognition for the 50,000 employees concerned.
Exhaustion, pain, heavy periods… The symptoms of endometriosis which affect one in ten women are, fortunately, increasingly well recognized and are beginning to move the lines. After the municipality of Saint-Ouen, which launched menstrual leave in March for its employees with painful periods, it is today the turn of a large French group to announce new measures concerning its employees.
Twelve days of absence per year for endometriosis
To improve the working conditions of its employees, Carrefour announced on April 19 that it would put in place a reinforced social protection system which includes:
- 12 days of medical absence authorized per year for women suffering from endometriosis and having a document attesting to the situation of disability recognized by the company: Recognition of the Quality of Disabled Worker (RQTH), inclusion card or certificate of disability issued by the CPAM;
- 3 days of authorized medical absence following a miscarriage;
- 1 day of absence for women having recourse to PMA (medically assisted procreation), at the time of an embryo transfer, in addition to the legal provisions in force.
These days of absence, which until now required sick leave and could induce up to several days of waiting, will now be supported and financed by Carrefour France for all of its employees, the press release announces.
Raising awareness of women’s working conditions
That’s not all. According to the group, these three measures will also be accompanied by an awareness campaign aimed at managers, in order to share the right behaviors to adopt in the face of the various female difficulties, thanks to the distribution of a guide as well as a campaign audio-videos around the behaviors to proscribe. The orientation of the women concerned towards the anonymous and free psychological support platform accessible to all Carrefour France employees will also be reinforced.
“This entire action plan aims to enable female employees to better live their professional life as women and to create awareness among all employees of the difficulties and inequalities that these situations can cause.” welcomes Alexandre Bompard, Chairman and CEO ofu Carrefour Group on its website.
Other brands could also put in place measures to follow this example. “It is also a subject around which we debate”, replied Michel-Edouard Leclerc, Chairman and CEO of Centers E.Leclerc, when asked about France Inter.
Menstrual leave, as undertaken in Saint-Ouen, was however not mentioned. But proof that the lines are really moving, deputies are currently preparing bills to try to create days of absence since Spain adopted this device.