Red bracelet for menstruating employees

Menstruation is, for many women, an unpleasant and private occurrence not something they would willingly announce to the whole world. Yet one Norwegian company made it compulsory for all female employees to wear a red "menstrual" bracelet during that time of the month. The rule was introduced to give menstruating employees the right to pay more frequent visits to the rest room. When wearing their red bracelets, women gain the possibility to go to the toilet more often, one Danish news site reports.

Restrictions on the number of bathroom visits employees are allowed to make are not all that uncommon in Norway. A survey carried out by the major Norwegian trade union Parat revealed that many employers have control measures in place to prevent workers from going to the toilet too often. As much as 66 percent of the participants of the survey says they can only enter their place of work with an electronic key, which records the amount of time they spend at work and reveals the number of trips they take to the bathroom. Does this sound shocking and unbelievable to you? You are not the only one.

Norwegian jurist and director of the bureau for privacy protection Bjorn Erik Thon said: "This is an extreme case of obvious invasion of privacy". It is not the first time for we have to write about weird actions of employers in relation to reproductive health. Previous gems include Maternity leave but only if you conceived after you married! and Australian sacked for being pregnant. But these red bracelets win the first prize! We have never heard of something as ridiculous like this, and our only reaction is "Oh My God"! What do you think about this employer's rules? Would you consent to wearing a red bracelet during your period? If you are an employer, does this idea sound appealing to you?