The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) recently released its first guidance on menopause in the workplace, designed to give employers clarification of their legal obligations to workers experiencing menopause. In this blog post, we explore the new guidance and consider how organisations can create an inclusive and supportive working environment.
Let’s start with a bit of context.
Menopause can be incredibly debilitating, and is often much more serious than a few hot flushes and mood swings. For most women, menopause occurs 12 months after their last period due to the end of their menstrual cycle, usually between the ages of 45 and 55. And while it is a natural part of aging, there are a range of physical and psychological symptoms that can sometimes be disruptive to both personal and professional lives.
In many women, the decline in oestrogen levels and loss of ovarian follicular function leads to things like increased stress, difficulty concentrating, disrupted sleep and memory loss. The CIPD found that 3 in 5 working women between 45 and 55 say their menopause symptoms have negatively impacted them at work, with nearly a third taking sick leave.
The EHRC’s new guidance has been published to provide employers with practical advice on making reasonable adjustments to ensure a fair and inclusive workplace.
Understanding the new employer guidance
Employees experiencing problems at work relating to menopause are protected by existing health and safety legislation and equality law. While this protection has not changed, the guidance has provided some useful clarification of how menopause symptoms should be viewed.
Let's explore this clarification.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers must ensure all employees' health and safety. They are legally obliged to assess workplace risks and they must provide information, instruction, training and supervision to allow employees to work safely. And the Equality Act 2010 protects workers against discrimination, harassment or victimisation on the basis of protected characteristics, which include disability, age and sex.
So what’s changed? Well, in situations where symptoms of menopause are causing a substantial and long-term negative impact on an employee’s ability to do normal daily activities, the EHRC now advises that the symptoms could be considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010. Which means that employers are legally required to make reasonable adjustments to ensure no direct or indirect discrimination, and conduct robust workplace risk assessments.
What it means for your organisation
When workplace adjustments aren’t offered, menopause symptoms can be exacerbated at work by things like an inability to control ventilation, temperature, restrictive workwear and rigid working hours.
Practically, reasonable adjustments to promote a menopause-friendly workplace could include:
- Promoting increased flexibility around working hours, shift patterns and locations
- Providing rest areas or quiet rooms away from the main office space
- Granting time off work, recorded separately from other sickness absences
- Adapting or relaxing uniform requirements
- Considering ventilation and room temperature, or providing desk fans
But your legal obligations extend further than just reasonable adjustments, and employers are required to ensure that disabled workers are not subjected to any direct or indirect discrimination. And with ignorance being one of the underlying causes of discrimination, it’s important to promote knowledge by fostering positive conversations about menopause and ensuring managers are appropriately trained.
Research shows that very few women who struggled with menopausal symptoms at work felt comfortable enough to request support or workplace adjustments. Around a third cited feeling too embarrassed, and another third referenced having an unsupportive manager.
To build truly inclusive working environments that support women experiencing menopause symptoms, employers need to do more than just fulfill their legal requirements.
How to build a more supportive working environment for women with menopause symptoms
Pre-pandemic research from the UK’s Government Equalities Office found that menopause is still not well enough understood or considered in workplace cultures, policies and training.
It’s crucial for employers to create an environment where women feel safe enough to talk about their symptoms, communicate their needs and ask for adjustments to their work. How can we do this? Offering training to employees and managers on how to have open conversations about the menopause is a great place to start.
In addition to building understanding and empathy through workplace training, it’s never been more important to develop an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that caters to the differing needs of a multigenerational workforce. It’s a competitive market, and employers that don’t consider how they can improve their menopause support will risk falling behind competitors in attracting, retaining and engaging staff.
There’s certainly no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to creating a more supportive environment for menopausal employees, but here are some of our tips –
- Regularly remind employees of the support and adjustments that are available, providing links to digital resources
- Create opportunities for women to discuss their experiences
- Provide formal training for managers and arrange lunch and learn sessions for all employees
- Promote your existing policies on things like flexible working
- Ensure managers are hosting regular 1:1s with their team members
- Provide safe spaces by encouraging staff networks or employee resource groups
Speak to one of our experts today to ensure your EVP is fit for purpose and your organisation is best placed to support employees experiencing the symptoms of menopause.
