as a male. this is disgustingly stupid of that company. she wasn't exposing herself. she wasn't making it overtly obvious. and she didn't state anything clearly until an HR admin contacted her. its absolutely wrong how the company handled this and is an absolute ethics violation. (at least it would be in the US)

This 'Guy' person must have never seen a woman, or have a girlfriend... My job is mostly with men. And when I was feeling very bad because of my periods and my colleagues noticed it and asked me what was wrong, I honestly said : "Oh, sorry it's just... THAT time of the month". ALL were saying to me : " I understand. My wife/girlfriend has also a lot of problems and feels so much pain during her periods... " I was sooo surprised to see men paying attention so nicely to me... I never felt ashamed with them. Strangely, more with women...

I am baffled. And I'm not sure which I find worse, Guy's ignorance of HR's response. Okay, scratch that, HR's response is even worse because it was a woman siding with Guy on this when she should know better.

Not just when confronted with an employee on their period but I have seen firsthand how pregnant women can be unfairly treated due to the fact that ignorance of the opposite sex poses a certain lack of sympathy from our male supervisors. My boss grew very impatient with my increasing need for time off for doctor's visits, even though I told him they would want to see me more frequently as my pregnancy got further along. When my doctor begged me to go on sick leave due to all the problems I was having, I refused for weeks because I was so afraid of pissing off my boss. I put my health at risk to appease my boss who simply did not have the patient or sympathy he should have had for a pregnant employee. When I finally did go on leave I was the happiest I have ever been. And we only get 6 weeks postpartum maternity leave. So when I called him to let him know I would be using my vacation time to have just one more week with my first child before handing her over to a babysitter,

Did Guy actually realize she was on her period or did he assume she had some gastro issue and worried that she might be contagious? It sounds to me like this whole thing could just be a communication failure surrounded by faulty assumptions.

Both the HR person and Guy are unprofessional idiots. Period.

I find it very telling that everyone saying "there's no evidence this even happened" is a male. Just an observation.

Are you kidding? I am more angry at the HR person too. It's NONE of anyones business. Guy must have hatched out of an egg.

Am I reading it correctly? It seems like she didn't even tell her supervisor, Guy, that she's having cramps - She mentioned it was for pain relief. She only told the HR admin that she was having cramps, who then went missing after the conversation. Then she was contacted by the HR Director about her disclosure of her menstrual cramps to Guy, which made him feel uncomfortable. So, doesn't it seem like it was the HR Admin who told her supervisor of her actual condition? Shouldn't that be a bigger issue to address, the fact that HR openly disclosed the information? If anything it was HR that should be reprimanded for making the supervisor feel uncomfortable. Just an additional thought. I wholeheartedly agree that it's sexual discrimination and the supervisor should grow up about the situation, but thought I'd point out that part as well since it doesn't seem to have came up in the discussion...

Unfortunately I haven't met an HR person who is sane enough to know what is normal. Not sure what kind of person wants to be in HR but they don't seem rational

What this guy did is moral harassement, also the HR did, it´s crime in Brazil.

Sexual harassment suit coming anytime.

IF ONLY MEN WERE AS DISGUSTED WITH RAPE AS THEY ARE WITH PERIODS ....

Men need to be better educated on this stuff

Hello if anyone is wondering, I am "Guy" and I would also like to say if it is you-know-when, that is gross and you should take the day off ew girl cooties.

This is a disgusting attitude to take over a woman who has a hot water bottle in her lap! HR should be ashamed of their attitude and told this idiot to mind his own business.

He asked her, she did not offer up the information. She was in the privacy of her office. Does he not have a wife or girlfriend that has a period? Was he perhaps gay and not in any way prepared to deal with the natural female cycle? He apparently wasn't too uncomfortable as he was able to contact HR and discuss with them. UGH> people are so awful sometimes.

Our culture is such, that a man's comfort is put above a woman's. The office temperature is regulated for men's comfort. School dress codes target young girls with the admonition, "it distracts the boys", chairs are designed for men's bodies, 'standard' is for average height, average weight male but a woman needs 'woman's sizes', gym machines are designed with men in mind, and a unisex name is for both sexes if its a girl name (shannon, alex, kelly) but it's a girl with a boy's name if its, charlie, bobby, danny....well...you get it.

Wow, what a dumbass Guy is. And an immature brat to boot. What the hell is it with some men still being "shocked" and "scared" over periods? They are a completely natural part of the human female anatomy. That's like being shocked, appalled and scared over the fact that men have semen floating around in their testicles.

I agree, she didn't even say what the problem was, she could have IBS!!! He is the one who got it in his head to have a baby boy fit!!!! Typical English Male! Still trying to control everything about a woman. Honestly, we have a*s--- here in the US asking about "being on the rag" but they don't throw us out of the office for having cramps. AND, HR shold have supported her not his hissy fit. He's totally unprofessional and I don't care what kind of performance eval he's given before, he's maneuvering to get her out of that job. Maybe he has a friend that want's it. No other reason to pull HR into the situation immediatly with his damn nose firmly in the air! (Hope he drowns)!

How Stupid of HR. I had serious problems before my hysterectomy and had to use a hot water bottle at work and I worked in a mans world !! Nothing was ever said, yes they knew i am sure but so what the bottle helped. Like this lady if clients came in it wasnt there, HR are so in the wrong here,,, and personally I would make a formal complaint...

Once upon a time I was dating a very nice lady who had an occasionally crippling cycle. We're talking ER visit bad. If I were working in an office and supervising a female co-worker and she was using a water-bottle for pain relief I'd offer her the option of burning a sick/vacation day if she wanted. That said I wouldn't involve HR.

After having to take a day each month off for 5 months in a row for intense bleeding, terrible cramps and an accompanying migraine... with an on going doctors note i night add, my boss yelled at me he never would've hired me if he had known i had so many "health problems." Mind you he manages about 150 women a day but having a uterus is a health problem??

Hey, this is actually cool: A company that allows you to take sick days whenever you are menstruating! As for 'Guy': since he is so horrified about a woman's reproduction system he'll clearly never be able to live with a woman and hence will never procreate. Problem solved, at least int the long run.

Know I'm about 7 years late BUT............. Why hasn't someone kicked this guy in his penis so he could even vaguely understand what chronic period pain feels like?

She didn't even say she was on her period. Guy asked her what the water bottle was for and she said it was for pain. There was nothing explicit, unprofessional, or otherwise wrong with that. There was no reason for HR to get involved at all. But since HR did get involved, and there may have been a concern that she wasn't feeling well, they should have just let it go after she said she was fine in the email.

I'm 22 and having intense cramps every month is one of the reasons I'm afraid to apply for a full time job...well done 21st century 😒😒