Our charity is thinking about developing a menopause policy. Where should we start? Employment law expert Rebecca Pallot shares advice...
Increasing numbers of employers are developing policies to ensure that staff going through menopause are better supported.
This is in response to a growing body of evidence which shows that despite an increased societal openness about health issues relating to menopause, far too many middle-aged people who need help to manage their symptoms have a poor experience not only at work, but when seeking to access appropriate medical support.
Before developing a policy, organisations need to think about what they want to achieve, and how they want to get there. A menopause policy can then be tailored to reflect those aims and to provide a framework to ensure that desired outcomes are achieved.
One useful starting point is to consider the three components of the Menopause Workplace Pledge (run by the Wellbeing of Women charity). These are:
- recognising that menopause can be an issue in the workplace and that employee support is needed;
- talking openly, positively and respectfully about menopause; and
- actively supporting and informing employees affected by menopause.
Whilst it can help with educating the wider workforce about the first and second of these aims, having a menopause policy is most useful when it comes to delivering support to affected employees.
One way to support workers is to think about what adjustments could help them manage problematic symptoms. Many such adjustments are not difficult or expensive to deliver.
A useful source of possible adjustments can be found in annex 3 to the recent report from the Women and Equalities Select Committee on menopause and the workplace. This summarises the results of a survey run by the Committee in which respondents reported the workplace adjustments that they would find most helpful.
Theses included simple steps like having desk fans, access to drinking water and easy access to toilet and washing facilities. Other popular adjustments included more flexible working arrangements, including working from home.
All employers should consider what adjustments should be made – not only in order to comply with their obligations under the Equality Act but to comply with their more general obligation of trust and confidence to employees.
Last year, we had the first decision from the Employment Appeal Tribunal on whether someone experiencing typical menopausal symptoms at work could be protected under the Equality Act as a disabled person. The short (and unsurprising) answer was that it depends on the severity of the symptoms and their impact on day-to-day activities.
That will be true for any medical symptoms arising from menopause, but we have seen that in some workplaces a culture can develop which minimises menopausal symptoms as “women’s problems” which do not merit serious consideration.
Given the number of women between 45 and 55 in the workforce (possibly as high as 4 million), there are obvious benefits of developing a culture which better supports that group. It should also be remembered that trans men may also experience the same symptoms and so require support.
That is particularly the case at the moment in such a competitive labour market in which employers can ill afford to lose experienced workers for avoidable reasons.
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