L&T’s new leave policy: Subrahmanyan announces one-day paid menstrual leave for women employees

Larsen & Toubro, a leading engineering firm, has announced a one-day paid menstrual leave for its female employees, benefiting around 5,000 women at its headquarters.  

The announcement was made by Chairman and Managing Director S N Subrahmanyan during an event marking International Women’s Day. Details on the policy’s implementation are still being finalised by the company’s leadership, according to news report.  

The leave policy applies only to employees of the parent company, L&T, and does not extend to its subsidiaries in the financial services or technology sectors. L&T has a workforce of 60,000, with women comprising 9% of its total employees. The move aligns L&T with companies like Swiggy and Zomato, which have implemented similar policies in India.  

The decision comes in the wake of previous controversial remarks by Subrahmanyan. In early 2025, he advocated for a 90-hour workweek and expressed regret over not being able to make employees work on Sundays. His statements, which also included a controversial comment about "staring at your wife," sparked widespread criticism and debates on work-life balance.  

Apart from the 90-hour workweek debate, Subrahmanyan had recently warned that the reluctance of workers to relocate for jobs poses a significant challenge to businesses and the nation’s growth. He had attributed the reluctance of labourers to work to government welfare schemes. The statement was slammed as "misleading, insulting, and demoralizing" to India’s hardworking labour force.

Meanwhile, menstrual leave policies have gained traction across India. Odisha became the first state in August 2024 to introduce a one-day menstrual leave policy for women in both government and private sectors. Karnataka is also considering a draft bill that proposes six days of paid menstrual leave per year for women in both public and private sectors, along with free menstrual health products.