Deborah Garlick
Director, Henpicked, Menopause in the Workplace
Menopause symptoms don’t stop when you go to work. So, it’s great to see more and more UK employers putting the right support in place.
If we rewound five years, we’d be very unlikely to find many employers who readily encouraged discussion about menopause at work and even less likely to find any with policies, guidance and support in place.
Thankfully, a lot has happened over recent years. Now, thousands of forward-thinking organisations realise their responsibilities in supporting menopause at work. They also understand much more about the benefits for their colleagues and the organisation. In fact, we’ve reached a point, a fantastic point, where organisations are actually achieving Menopause Friendly Accreditation.
While menopause support at work isn’t yet law, thousands of employers are not prepared to wait until it is.
What does this mean?
We’ve already seen the first cohort of accredited employers — HSBC UK, first direct, M&S Bank, ATOS and Aster Group. There are many others who have committed to being menopause friendly, working towards the standards set out for accreditation from an independent panel of the UK’s leading experts.
Becoming menopause friendly
These standards embrace all the key elements which, together, create a menopause friendly organisation.
They include creating an environment where it’s easy to talk about menopause, putting policies and guidance documents in place, offering training to help everyone understand what can help at work and making reasonable adjustments available. Some employers are going even further, providing direct access to menopause experts, such as Peppy, through their employee rewards.
Why wait to take action?
We know that we’re an ageing population, living and working for longer. While menopause support at work isn’t yet law, thousands of employers are not prepared to wait until it is. It’s important for equality, diversity and inclusion. It’s also important for colleagues to know they’re supported. Employers are now taking action and they’re reaping the benefits.
