The question of introducing paid menstrual leave for women in Kazakhstan remains open. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population has commented on the prospects of such a practice, reports infohub.kz.
Recall that in late July, Montenegro's parliament adopted amendments to the law on compulsory health insurance, allowing women to take paid leave for painful periods. This right applies to women suffering from secondary dysmenorrhea, i.e., painful menstrual cycles caused by organic conditions such as endometriosis, polyps, or fibroids.
A NUR.KZ correspondent sent a request to the press service of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection asking whether a similar practice could be introduced in Kazakhstan. The ministry responded that studying international experience is a key factor in assessing the feasibility of introducing leave related to physiological characteristics. However, at present, there are no well-founded proposals based on empirical data and long-term international examples to amend labor legislation. Therefore, introducing such leave for female workers is not part of the ministry's legislative agenda.
The ministry also reminded which types of leave are already available to Kazakhstani workers. In particular, paid annual labor leave and social leave are provided. Paid annual labor leave is intended for rest, recovery of work capacity, health improvement, and other personal needs of the employee. It is granted for a certain number of calendar days with retention of the workplace (position) and average salary. There are basic and additional paid annual labor leaves.
Social leave is the release of an employee from work for a certain period to create favorable conditions for motherhood, undergoing screening studies, childcare, obtaining education without interrupting work, and other social purposes. Social leave includes: leave without pay, study leave, leave related to pregnancy and childbirth (children), adoption (adoption) of a newborn child (children), unpaid leave to care for a child until the age of three, leave for screening studies (no more than three working days per year), and leave for registering for medical check-up due to pregnancy up to 12 weeks (at least three working days).