After 90 hours a week comment, L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyan now announces ‘one day menstrual leave’

L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan has announced that women employees in the L&T parent group will now be entitled to one day of menstrual leave. Women employees make up approximately 9 per cent of the company’s 60,000-strong workforce. This move positions the engineering, procurement, and construction giant as one of the first in its sector to introduce such a policy.

According to a report published by Naukri titled ‘The Unfiltered Truth: What Women Professionals Really Want’, 34 per cent of women professionals rank menstrual leave as their number one workplace policy request—surpassing traditional equal pay discussions.

L&T's announcement comes in the wake of immense controversy sparked by Subrahmanyan’s earlier remarks suggesting employees should work 90 hours a week, which drew severe criticism.

Additionally, Subrahmanyan had voiced concerns about a labour shortage in the construction industry, further fuelling debates around workplace conditions and expectations.

Subrahmanyan's 90-hour work week comment

The chairman of Larsen & Toubro sparked controversy in early 2025 with his remarks advocating for a 90-hour work week.

During an internal company meeting, Subrahmanyan expressed regret at not being able to make employees work on Sundays and suggested that working 90 hours a week was key to success.

The L&T chairman's comments, which also included a controversial remark about "staring at your wife", ignited a fierce debate on work-life balance and drew widespread criticism from the public, industry leaders, and social media users.

The backlash was swift and severe, prompting L&T's HR department to defend Subrahmanyan's statements.

Sonica Muraleedharan, L&T's Head of Human Resources for Domestic Operations, in a LinkedIn post claimed that the chairman's words were taken out of context and were casual in nature, not intended as a mandate.

Menstrual leave for women employees in India

In August 2024, Odisha became the first state in India to introduce a one-day menstrual leave policy for women workers in both the state government and the private sector.

In September 2024, it was reported that Karnataka is mulling six days of paid menstrual leave a year for women in both private and public sectors. The draft bill, christened ‘The Right of Women to Menstrual Leave and Free Access to Menstrual Health Products,’ aimed at improving work-life balance for women by addressing the physical and emotional challenges they face during menstruation, and will be worked on by a government-appointed committee.

However, there was no update on the implementation of the proposal. 

Several Indian companies have already introduced menstrual leave policies to support their female employees. Some notable examples include:

Zomato: Offers 10 days of paid period leave annually since 2020.

Swiggy: Has also implemented a menstrual leave policy, though specific details are not widely reported.