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Swiggy floats ‘no-questions-asked’ period time-off policy for women delivery agents
Food delivery platform Swiggy brings forth a two-day period time-off policy to support its women delivery partners on ‘that day of the month’.
Online food delivery platform Swiggy has set a new benchmark for companies with regards to the well-being of their female employees by introducing a time-off policy for women struggling to work on ‘that day of the month’. Swiggy announced that it has accommodated a “no-questions-asked, two-day paid monthly period time-off policy” for its women delivery partners, a move that enables more women to come forward in onboarding with Swiggy as a delivery agent.
“Discomfort from being out and about on the road while menstruating is probably one of the most underreported reasons why many women don’t consider delivery to be a viable gig,” Mihir Shah, Swiggy's Vice President of Operations said in a recent blogpost.
The period time-off policy is completely “voluntarily” and ensures that those who opt for it are still eligible for a minimum earnings guarantee for that duration. This means that women delivery agents at Swiggy can opt for 24 days of voluntary time-off in a year.
“This industry-first initiative gives our female DEs the option to voluntarily take time-off during their menstrual cycle and be eligible for a minimum earnings guarantee during that time,” Shah informed.
Last year, Zomato had announced an initiative by introducing 10 paid leave days for its female employees to cover ‘those days’ during their menstrual cycle.
Apart from the period time-off, Swiggy has also taken a number of steps like introducing ‘safe zones’ and better hygiene facilities to employ female delivery partners and ensure their safety on the job. The food aggregator platform is also working towards facilitating EV cycles and bikes for women employees who do not have a vehicle at their disposal.
Swiggy has nearly 1,000 female delivery agents now, in the span of about five years. The first batch of women executives in Swiggy’s delivery fleet were introduced in 2016 in Pune.
