AU Small Finance Bank introduces Menstrual Leave for Women Employees

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 17 January 2023

The largest small finance bank in India, AU Small Finance Bank, joined the list of companies in India to provide a menstruation leave policy for its female employees. In addition, the bank also announced 'AU Forever Pass,' a groundbreaking program for its current employees.

The core values of AU Bank are diversity and inclusion, and with the menstrual leave policy, the bank strives to create an inclusive workplace for women by providing them with additional paid leave each month over and above the allowed leaves. The rule will be followed by February 2023.

The bank has also introduced a unique "AU Forever Pass" for those employees who will leave the organization after three years of employment. An "AU Forever Pass" membership, which allows candidates an assured option to rejoin AU SFB whenever they want to, would be offered to chosen eligible workers at the time of exit who had made extraordinary contributions to the Bank's growth and had exemplary service records.

Speaking on the purpose behind introducing these revolutionary employee-centric initiatives, Sanjay Agarwal, MD & CEO,  of AU Small Finance Bank, said, “Under our ethos of ‘badlaav’ we are working towards bringing progressive changes within our organization to make it more supportive and inclusive for everyone. The culture of a workplace can only be regarded as fully inclusive if it appreciates the needs of its varied workforce including women and even existing employees. Employee-centric policies, such as the Menstrual Leaves can pave the way towards building a friendly professional environment for women seeking to enter the workforce, by sensitizing the organization. Similarly, ‘AU Forever Pass’ is introduced to honor the contribution of our employees who leave our organization due to personal exigencies or professional aspirations. In this journey of ‘badlaav’, we will continue to march ahead holding hands with all our employees.”

FurtherVivek Tripathi, Head of HR, at AU Small Finance Bank, added, “During and post-pandemic AU Bank has taken many initiatives to make the workplace safe and healthy for its employees. In recent times the bank has adopted policies like the ‘AU Forever Pass’ initiative, menstrual leave policy, birthday leave, marriage anniversary leave, paternity leave, donating leaves policy, paid sabbatical leave for long-serving employees, education assistance program, personal loan policy, concessional home loan policy to address the changing needs of employees, families, and communities.”