Female workers could be given extra time off when suffering painful periods if Australian companies follow the lead of a radical British business.

Bex Baxter, director of Co-Exist in Bristol, said the initiative sprung from seeing women at work “bent over double” in pain.

“I have managed many female members of staff over the years and I have seen women at work who are bent over double because of the pain caused by their periods,” Ms Baxter said.

“Despite this, they feel they cannot go home because they do not class themselves as unwell.

“And this is unfair. At Coexist we are very understanding. If someone is in pain — no matter what kind — they are encouraged to go home.”

Would you support paid menstrual leave for women? Yes 2823 No 3487

Coexist Director Bex Baxter and her team. (Coexist)

Ms Baxter shot down criticism of the policy, saying it came “from a place of fear”.

“Women don’t want to feel they are less employable than men if they are taking time off [for periods],” she told BBC.

Paid menstrual leave already exists in some Asian countries, including South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and in Japan since 1947.