Menopause in the workplace
A 2019 survey conducted by BUPA and the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that three in five menopausal women (usually aged between 45 and 55) were negatively affected at work and that almost 900,000 women in the U.K. left their jobs over an undefined period of time because of menopausal symptoms.
There is a significant benefit for both women and employers in working to rectify this. Women in this age group are likely to be reaching the peak of their career path and if they are unable to stay in employment, this has a negative impact both on the individual, and the organisation who may be losing a senior, highly experienced employee.
The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee has launched an inquiry into workplace issues surrounding the menopause. The inquiry will examine existing laws and workplace practices, to consider whether enough is being done to prevent women from leaving their jobs as a result of menopausal symptoms, or suffering other adverse consequences. So, what could the government introduce to prevent discrimination? Protection against discrimination is already in place and set out in the Equality Act 2010. Discrimination against a woman who has menopausal symptoms could be covered under one of three protected characteristics: age, sex and disability discrimination.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 also provides for safe working, which extends to the working conditions when experiencing menopausal symptoms.
Although we have these protections in place, it seems that they are not enough; culturally there is still a reticence from both women and their employers when discussing the menopause and the effect this may have on their performance at work. There are a number of reasons for this, which could include embarrassment, ignorance, fear of ridicule, lack of career progression or harassment.
The case of Merchant v BT from 2011 is a good example of how not to deal with an employee struggling with menopausal symptoms at work. In this case Ms Merchant was dismissed following a final warning for poor performance. She had previously given her male manager a letter from her doctor explaining that she was “going through the menopause which can affect her level of concentration at times”. In dismissing her, the manager chose not to carry out any further medical investigations of her symptoms, in breach of BT’s performance management policy. The tribunal upheld her claims of direct sex discrimination and unfair dismissal and held that the manager would never have adopted “this bizarre and irrational approach with other non-female-related conditions”. The manager was also wrong to consider that his wife’s experience was relevant evidence when he stated that his wife had not experienced the difficulties that Ms Merchant had.
Acas guidance includes tips for workers on how to raise any concerns and good practice for employers to help manage menopause at work. Top tips include:
create and implement a menopause policy
provide awareness training for managers to deal with any concerns in a sensitive way
create an open and trusted culture within the team
make changes where possible such as altering working hours
implement low-cost environmental changes such as providing desk fans
be aware of employment laws that can relate to menopause issues at work such as the risks of sex, disability or age discrimination
We are seeing an increase in employers introducing policies to deal with women’s health at work (for example infertility and miscarriage). A menopause policy is likely to include a statement about what the menopause is, together with a commitment by the employer to deal with the impact of the menopause in a constructive and open way. There should also be an indication of the type of support the employer might offer employees who are suffering from any symptoms that may have in impact of their ability to carry out their role. Depending on the type of work, employers may also consider whether carrying out a risk assessment is necessary in order to prevent the worsening of any symptoms.
All women (and potentially trans and non binary employees) will experience the menopause in varying degrees at some point in their lives and these experiences will differ for each woman. By raising awareness of these issues and the effect they may have on employees, this will enable a more open dialogue between employers and employees.Not only does this reduce the risk of claims of discrimination being raised against organisations, but also it will help to ensure that senior female professionals are not pushed out of the workplace.