Menopause in the workplace
Supporting women in the workplace who are experiencing the menopause is becoming an increasingly discussed topic amongst employers and HR professionals.
It’s currently thought that employees experiencing the menopause don’t receive enough support when it comes to managing their symptoms and maintaining their performance at work. Further, the impact of the menopause on workers is often unspoken.
The Guardian reported that Amanda Griffiths, Occupational Health Psychology Professor at University of Nottingham, found that one in four women said that menopause symptoms had a heavy toll on their personal and professional lives.
Research by Newson Health shows that women experiencing the menopause are heavily impacted at work. The findings reveal that some menopausal women faced disciplinary action, were forced to take time off, reduce their hours or give up their jobs altogether. This was because of the impact of their symptoms and the lack of support and awareness from their employers.
Employers should consider raising this subject up the HR agenda because of the increasing publicity and awareness that this topic will receive in the near future. It’s important to break the taboo and normalise the issue in business.
This guide is designed to support employers in being proactive towards the subject and provides advice on:
- understanding symptoms;
- useful policies;
- management practices to put in place; and
- the legal considerations and risks to be aware of in relation to the menopause at work.
Menopause on the agenda
Parliament have been debating bringing legislation into place with the specific aim of supporting women at work when they experience the menopause. British MPs are pushing to protect women suffering from symptoms of the menopause by introducing clear and specific workplace policies. This would include a menopause policy, and they believe that these should be standard for all employers.
Carolyn Harris, Labour MP, has said: “You wouldn’t dream of having a workplace where people weren’t entitled to certain things because they were pregnant, and it’s exactly the same for women with the menopause. I firmly believe there should be legislation to make sure every workplace has a menopause policy, just like they have a maternity policy” (The Guardian, 2019).
Menopause policies in practice
So, what do menopause policies look like in practice? What changes do they influence, and how are companies introducing them?
Channel 4 announced in October 2019 that they are introducing their first menopause policy to ‘end the stigma’ and support their staff.
In a press release, Channel 4 said, “The new policy is designed to support employees experiencing menopausal symptoms whilst providing guidance to colleagues and line managers about how they can be supportive to those transitioning through it.”
Let’s take a look at the areas the policy addresses in the workplace. The policy introduces a number of initiatives to support employees experiencing the menopause, including:
- access to flexible working arrangements;
- paid leave if feeling unwell due to menopause symptoms;
- a private, cool and quiet space;
- working environment assessment to ensure their work space is not making their symptoms worse;
- support, guidance and resources;
- menopause awareness briefings to leadership teams; and
- access to internal support specialists such as a dedicated Menopause Champion, 4Mind the broadcaster’s mental health network, and in-house gender equality staff 4Women.
What are the symptoms of the menopause?
People Management found that women over the age of 50 are increasingly remaining active in the labour market. This may involve working in a variety of ways including working part time or flexibly. This makes it even more important for us to be aware of how the menopause may affect employee performance.
The Faculty of Occupational Medicine published a useful info-graphic about the menopause at work. Some of the facts stated includes that the menopause is a natural part of ageing and tends to occur between the ages of 45 and 55.
The average age in the UK to experience the menopause is 51. It’s important to understand that this will vary for each person, as will the length of time that a person may experience symptoms and the severity of their symptoms. These are key considerations that we should be aware of as employers.
The NHS lists common symptoms of the menopause as:
- Anxiety
- Depression and low mood
- Loss of confidence
- Hot flushes
- Muscle and join stiffness
- Headaches
- Weight gain
- Problems with memory and concentration
- Difficulty sleeping
- Fatigue
The symptoms caused by the menopause can sometimes impact performance, engagement, job satisfaction and sickness absence. There are treatments and lifestyle changes which can help to manage the symptoms of the menopause.
However, it’s important for employers to be mindful of how employees can be affected by such symptoms. We should take this into consideration when assessing performance, tailoring management support and considering adjustments to the workplace.
How can employers support women experiencing the menopause at work?
The Faculty of Occupational Medicine raise an important point that the menopause often occurs for women when they may be facing increased caring responsibilities for elderly relatives, and also may still have responsibilities to look after children.
This can cause stress and increase emotional demand. Therefore, the CIPD reinforce that this additional demand as well as the impact of the menopause means it is crucial that employers support women as much as possible during this time to help them achieve their potential and engage and retain their talent in the workplace.
It is important that employers introduce practices which will support and up-skill managers to support staff. We can encourage managers to be mindful of how menopause symptoms may impact on performance, and how to handle situations with care.
Newson Health published research recently which showed that 90% of the women surveyed felt that their work had been negatively impacted by their menopausal symptoms. The survey also found that more than a third of the respondents said that their employer didn’t offer any training or discussion sessions to raise awareness of the issue.
How then, can we help our managers support staff experiencing the menopause at work?
8 initiatives to help manage the menopause at work
1. Start the conversation
As employers, we should encourage the conversation around the menopause and how we can effectively support women who are experiencing symptoms. Some women may feel embarrassed to discuss their circumstances however it is important to break this stigma and ensure women are reassured and feel confident in discussing their issues and how they can be supported.
Moreover, you could send out an open invite to a working group which meets regularly to discuss the topic of the menopause. Invite women to share their experiences and make suggestions on how the workplace can support them. The group can also help with how to put initiatives in place, and monitor their success.
2. Individual check ins
As each woman experiences the menopause in a different way, an employer’s approach should be tailored to each individual.
In light of this, managers could meet with employees on a regular basis to identify if there is any further support that can be provided. For example, you can identify if there are any adjustments to employee duties or the workplace which could be considered.
This can help to ensure that women experiencing menopause at work can thrive in their roles. Support from managers is imperative to show women that they are valued in the workplace and enable them to continue to work productively.
Nonetheless, it is important to be aware that women may sometimes not feel comfortable talking to their direct line manager about their circumstances. If this is the case, employers should ensure employees have another contact who they can speak openly with, which could be a member of the HR team.
3. Management training
As this is a relatively under-explored area of management, you’re advised to provide training to managers on the topic. The training should include how to be mindful of the symptoms and impact of the menopause.
Moreover, the training should cover how managers can support employees experiencing the menopause, and any legal risks associated. Face to face training reinforced by guidance documents and refresher sessions would be a useful way to proceed.
4. Awareness sessions
All staff need to be mindful of the impact that the menopause can have on employees, not just managers. To combat this, you could host awareness sessions for all employees to attend.
By attending these sessions, staff can gain understanding of the symptoms of the menopause and their impact, and ask questions.
This will also help to stimulate more openness around the menopause in the workplace. Therefore, this would encourage more women to open up about their experiences and the support they require.
5. Menopause workplace adjustments
Small practical changes can help to reduce some menopausal symptoms. For example, adjustments to consider are offering desk fans, or the ability to adjust temperature control. Other suggestions include flexible working options as detailed below, and/or allowing for flexibility in your dress code/uniform policy.
6. Flexible working
Ensure that employees experiencing the menopause feel able to suggest how they could work more flexibly to help them to manage their symptoms. This relates to ad-hoc, day to day requests and more formal, structured requests for flexible working.
For example, this could include requests to reduce their workload, time off to attend medical appointments, switching to different tasks on days they are particularly suffering and the opportunity to work from home.
It’s important that employers thoroughly consider such requests for flexible working and implement these where possible. This can be crucial in supporting menopausal employees and retaining them in the workforce as well as avoiding claims of discrimination.
7. Reviewing workplace policies
Review your bullying and discrimination policies to ensure they include guidance on unacceptable language around age and the menopause. This review should be communicated to all staff for their awareness, to ensure they are mindful of their language and how this could be understood by others.
You can also review your absence policies to ensure women are be able to disclose the menopause as a reason for their absence. Any absence recorded against this can then be monitored separately and should not be acted upon through the formal absence management process.
It will also help women to open up about their need to take time off to manage their symptoms.
8. Produce a Menopause Policy
As discussed, some forward-thinking employers have already introduced menopause policies. This may not be appropriate for all organisations, depending upon their size and culture. For some organisations, it may be more appropriate to add a provision on the menopause into a well-being or equality and diversity policy which is already in place.
Nevertheless, it’s important that employers have written documentation to prove your commitment to supporting women in this respect. This will provide clarity for managers and employees on the organisation’s approach. Moreover, this will signpost employees to the support on offer and will prompt HR to audit, evaluate and improve their processes.
The ‘Cafeteria’ Approach
The above options provide useful guidance to employers on the assistance they can put in place to support women experiencing the menopause. However it’s imperative that we understand that it is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
The experience of the menopause can differ greatly from one woman to the next, therefore the CIPD advocates the ‘cafeteria’ strategy where, ‘women can choose from a range of options to assist with their specific symptoms, depending on severity, regularity and duration’ (2019).
The strategy, which is based upon each employee’s specific need and preference, will also empower women as they will be able to manage their symptoms with the right support in place in the organisation at the required time.
Legal implications of the menopause at work
The priority for employers should be to create inclusive workplaces in which all employees – no matter what their circumstances – can thrive and reach their potential, and openly discuss any challenges or obstacles they are facing without fear of not being taken seriously or it harming their career.
Nevertheless, it’s important that employers are aware of the legal risk of not sufficiently adapting their practices to support women going through the menopause.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD, 2019) explains that employers have a legal duty of care for the health and safety of employees and therefore are legally obliged to make a sufficient risk assessment of the workplace.
Therefore, in this particular context, employers must ensure the work environment supports an employee’s well-being and does not worsen their menopausal symptoms.
Employers may also risk sex, age and disability discrimination claims (amongst others) if they fail to adapt their approach and practices accordingly. Severe menopausal symptoms could potentially be considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010, meaning that employers are obliged to consider reasonable adjustments to the workplace to support them.
This could also mean that performance management practices could indirectly discriminate against women who are suffering symptoms related to the menopause if these symptoms, which could include struggling to concentrate on tasks, are having an impact on their delivery.
Similarly, employers should be mindful of how inappropriate comments or jokes in the workplace about a female employee’s age, mood swings or symptoms caused by the menopause, could lead to grievances and claims raised against the employer, for which they may be held vicariously liable.
The menopause at work – case studies
Disability Discrimination – M Davies v Scottish Courts
Mandy Davies, a Court Officer working for the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service, was dismissed after an incident occurred involving the medication she was taking. She was accused of lying after she could not recall if she had put her medication into a jug of water which was drunk by two male colleagues.
Davies claimed that she had been unfairly dismissed and discriminated against due to her disability.
Davis said she had been suffering menopausal symptoms, including heavy bleeding, confusion and memory loss. Her employer accepted that the menopause was a disability but disputed that it had unfairly dismissed her as a consequence.
The Judge took into account Mandy’s 20-year unblemished employment record, and found that the employer had failed to consider that her behaviour was affected by her disability when deciding to dismiss her. The Judge found in favour of Mandy and demanded that she be reinstated and awarded her £14,000.
Sex Discrimination – Mrs Merchant Vs British Telecommunications
In this case, an employee by the name of Mrs Merchant was subject to a performance management process. Mrs Merchant provided a letter from her GP to her employer, British Telecommunications (BT), which stated that she was experiencing menopausal symptoms and that this could, ‘affect her level of concentration at times’.
The employee’s line manager decided not to follow BT’s internal process and not request a medical assessment and, instead, dismissed her. The line manager decided to rely on his own knowledge of menopausal symptoms rather than gaining professional medical advice.
Mrs Merchant brought claims for unfair dismissal and direct sex discrimination which were upheld by the Tribunal.
Guidance on the menopause at work
To sum up, it’s important that employers are proactive in adapting their approach and ensuring they’re mindful of the symptoms that women can experience during the menopause.
We can put initiatives in place to support our staff experiencing the menopause. Promoting awareness of the menopause and encouraging the conversation around this is crucial and will serve substantially in engaging and retaining this key talent and in creating a diverse and productive workforce.
If you’d like support with your people management strategies, you can contact our team of People Partners.
