Young woman calls for menstrual and menopause leave for Aussie workers

It took six years for Jade Beavis to be diagnosed with endometriosis but in that time, she has taken countless days of sick and annual leave due to the pain.

Beavis is one of the 700,000 Aussie women who have a formal diagnosis of endometriosis, however, this number is expected to be much higher due to the difficulty of diagnosis.

This was the case for Beavis who only underwent surgery to check for the condition earlier this year despite years of pain.

Jade Beavis was diagnosed with endometriosis after six years of living with unbearable pain. (Supplied)

But she was only two months into a new job when she was taken off the public health waiting list for surgery, so she didn’t have enough sick leave accrued to take the recommended two weeks off.

Should Australia introduce menstrual and menopause leave?

“I didn’t have enough leave so I only took three days of sick leave and one day of annual leave, then worked the following week from home,” she told 9news.com.au.

“I would have had to buy leave otherwise.”

Beavis said if menstrual leave had been available to her then she could have taken the full two weeks to recover instead of pushing through the pain.

Beavis added there was even a day she worked through crippling post-surgery complications when the endometriosis began growing again, all because she didn’t have enough sick leave.

”Two months after my surgery, I had severe pain in my legs, like shots of glass running down my legs,” she said.

“I got to work and was in tears because I was so sore and it turns out it was the endometriosis growing again.”

But if she had menstrual leave available, Beavis said she would have been able to take time off.

Beavis’ experience comes as Australian unions have called on the government to legislate paid menstrual and menopause leave for Aussie women in the workforce.

Transport Workers’ Union’s Lana Goodman-Tomsett said too many women, like Beavis, either have to work through the pain or hide it from their employer.

Woman period pain work — Unions are calling for paid menstrual and menopause leave to be introduced in Australia. (Getty)

“In 2022 many women are forced to suffer in silence and just get on with it, compromising their own health and wellbeing just to participate in the workforce, especially in male-dominated industries,” she said.

“Women hide their period pain and say they’re sick and don’t extrapolate any further when suffering.

“Many are afraid to share a diagnosis, or discuss symptoms, including ongoing pain for fear of bosses thinking they will be sick every month.”

Australian Workers’ Union Queensland State Secretary Stacey Schinnerl said leave entitlements for women need to reflect the reality of their health experiences.

“Some women suffer throughout their entire working life. From the age they begin menstruating, to pregnancy – complications can arise in conceiving, carrying and post-natal issues, then peri-menopause symptoms arrive, followed by menopause,” she said.