Bridge HR articles

Employers may soon be required to put in place policies to protect people going through the menopause at work in a bid to address gender equality following an inquiry launched, by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee in July, into existing discrimination legislation and workplace practices. The aim is to look at whether enough is being done to prevent women and other menopausal people leaving their jobs, or suffering other adverse consequence, as a result of menopausal symptoms.

Why should employers worry about the menopause and its impact? Women aged 50+ are currently the fastest growing sector in the UK workforce with 31% of the workforce being over the age of 50 and 22% of women in work being classed as highly skilled compared to 19% of men, so understanding this demographic is more and more vital to ensure that you are getting the most out of your workforce.

Yet, despite this, the subject of menopause often remains taboo with the result being an evidenced negative effect on mental health, pay and progression of menopausal workers.

Remember that menopause does not only affect females – it can impact trans and non-binary people who may not identify as female too and is preceded by perimenopause which can last several years and can involve symptoms similar to the menopause itself. So, taking all this into account, this is a big part of the UK workforce who are going through something that is still little understood and often treated with awkwardness and embarrassment.

How can it affect work?

The symptoms of menopause vary widely, differing from person to person, and can often be debilitating – ranging from the well-known symptoms (hot flushes, “brain fog” and weight gain) to joint pain, sleep disruption, fatigue, memory loss, poor concentration, depression, mood changes, bleeding right through to anxiety and loss of confidence and identity and a whole host of things in between. Frankly, this can make going to work every day and performing very challenging for some.

This often comes at a time when menopausal people have additional caring responsibilities such as caring for elderly relatives or coping with the challenges of teenage children, with the result that many find it hard to cope working with the pressures of menopause, choosing instead to leave work resulting in measurable quantities of highly skilled workers leaving the workforce.

Given that perimenopausal symptoms can start in your forties with one in 100 people suffering from menopause before the age of 40, employers need to think about this more widely to support menopausal people to continue working but also to reduce the risk of costly sex, disability and age discrimination claims.

So, what can you do?

We firstly recommend strong communications with all staff about this subject. Help your workforce to see this as a normal stage of life and not something to be embarrassed or laughed about.

• Train your managers to spot the signs and know how to offer support in the right way - this will make them more accessible and therefore more able to support colleagues going through this and know when to involve occupational health too;
•  Give people the confidence of someone to talk to and reassurance that such discussions will be confidential and sensitive;
•  Consider adjustments – be it enabling access to a quiet room or rest facilities, relaxing of uniform rules, increasing access to cold water and desk fans or considering flexible working to name just a few. Reducing aspects of the working environment that may worsen menopausal symptoms can go a long way in ensuring the health and wellbeing of those going through the menopause and help them to keep working happily and productively;
•  Raise awareness generally about what is or is not acceptable – comments made in jest to a person having a hot flush, for example, may seem funny but can often cause offence and embarrassment which, in turn, may well satisfy the definition of harassment under the Equality Act 2010 – cue discrimination claims. So set expectations here through raising awareness and training to reduce risk; and
•  Make sure that your sickness absence and performance management policies and processes include reference to menopause to reduce the risk of decisions being made that might be discriminatory. We also advise a specific menopause policy – given the statistics showing the number of menopausal people in the workplace, and the increasing profile of this subject.

Risks of getting it wrong

A lack of awareness and openness can lead to staff failing to disclose their condition which can have a knock-on effect in terms of decision-making processes that don’t take symptoms into account and are, consequently, potentially discriminatory and unfair.

As employers, you are also potentially responsible for the acts of your employees and so increasing education around this subject generally should reduce the risk of thoughtless comments that might render you vicariously liable for actions of your staff that might be harassment and therefore discrimination too.

Remember, constructive knowledge may apply – you don’t need to actually know that someone is menopausal to be expected to make adjustments – this knowledge may be implied. Therefore, a failure to make adjustments because you did not know will not necessarily be a defence.

Numerous successful claims have been brought by menopausal people: unfair dismissal, disability discrimination, age discrimination and sex discrimination being the most commonly relied upon. Whilst not a protected characteristic in itself, menopause symptoms have been found in case law to satisfy the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 and can also come within other discrimination protections, such as sex, and so getting this wrong can have wide and costly implications in the form of grievances, loss of staff and Employment Tribunal claims.

What can you do?

As we set out above, there are practical steps to take right now which can help reduce your risk in this area. Awareness is key – simply being aware of the issue, and ensuring it’s something that people are able to discuss in a sympathetic way, will make a huge difference. Remember, simply ensuring that an employee has access to cold water and fresh air could be all it takes to avoid a costly claim, so it’s well worth investing some time taking some simple preventative steps now.

If you need further advice on this or any other employment law issue, please contact the team