Menopause: How can employers support their staff?
The recent Government announcement that menopause would not become a new “protected characteristic” under the Equality Act 2010 was disappointing for those who had campaigned for change. The Government’s view is that the existing protected characteristics of sex, age and disability already provide protection against discrimination and harassment under the Act due to the menopause.
Due to employers’ lack of support, many highly skilled women leave their jobs or reduce their working hours because of the impact of the menopause. Others don’t apply for promotion because of a loss of confidence related to it. This has implications for the gender pay gap, the pension gap and the number of women in senior roles.
For these reasons, many employers are choosing to proactively support their staff during the menopause.
Blake Morgan partner, Paula Kathrens, considers the various measures employers can put in place in an article that was first published in Employee Benefits on 15 March 2023.
Irrespective of their legal obligations, many employers choose to proactively support their staff during the menopause by, for example:
- Putting in place a Menopause policy
- Providing awareness training for all staff
- Ensuring that menopause is covered during the induction process
- Providing training for managers and HR about having open conversations
- Signposting details of any mental health first aiders, EAP helplines and online support groups
- Appointing workplace menopause champions
- Training menopause mentors
- Improving the working environment such as access to fans, good ventilation and changes to uniforms
Read the article in full here.
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