SUPPORT A CULTURE OF INCLUSIVITY DIVERSITY AND EQUALITY
REDUCE THE RISK OF HR/EMPLOYEE RELATIONS ISSUES
Benefits of Menopause Support
Making life easier with menopause support in the workplace
Major events like menopause can have a huge effect on a person’s life, at home and at work. The experience can be all-consuming – psychologically and physically. It can be hard to know who to turn to for advice and support. Information can be confusing, and people often struggle with their experiences.
We’re here to help your employees benefit from first-class menopause support services wherever they are on their menopause journey. We can inform and educate your line managers, employees and their loved ones.
Offering menopause support in the workplace means colleagues’ wellbeing is placed centre stage. It shows that an organisation is a great place to work. It will minimise the risk of legal complaint as those with line management responsibilities will be fully aware of the pitfalls and reasonable adjustments employees require to ensure regular and effective attendance and productivity levels.
Managers are responsible for their team’s happiness and performance. This involves ensuring that workflow and deadlines are reasonable, listening to their team members’ concerns, and providing guidance and support around goals, performance and well-being.
Managers have a greater influence on their team members than anyone else in the workplace. *In fact, 91% of line managers agree that what they do affects the wellbeing of their staff, while only 58% of employees feel that their line manager is genuinely concerned about their wellbeing. *Source CIPD 2021
Benefits at a glance ……….
INCREASED EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE
LOWER ABSENCE AND SICKNESS LEVELS
REDUCE RECRUITMENT REPLACEMENT COSTS
INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY
IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO
REDUCE THE RISK OF TRIBUNAL CLAIM
Why the right menopause support matters
Menopause affects all women who reach mid-life. Yet many women in the UK are not supported effectively, either by clinical services or with all-round health and wellbeing support. Your business can help change this by supporting the women who work for you.
Removing the barriers to accessing support for menopause will demonstrate your company’s inclusivity while, at the same time, making a huge difference to your employees’ lives.
of women say symptoms negatively impact their work
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%
14 million working days are lost a year to menopause symptoms.
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Around 400,000 people start the menopause every year.
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Close to 4 million women aged 45-55 are in work in the UK
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%
In creating an inclusive working environment, employers will improve their recruitment and retention of female employees. Without such support, staff are likely to lose confidence in their skills and abilities, have performance issues, experience increased sickness absence or mental health issues due to stress and anxiety, and ultimately resign because they no longer feel able to do their job.
Employers also need to consider their legal obligations. The menopause affects everyone differently and can be a long-term health condition. Employers should therefore review their health and safety risk assessments to ensure that the workplace or its practices do not adversely impact menopause symptoms.
Finally, although the Government has confirmed that it will not amend the Equality Act 2010 to include menopause as a stand-alone protected characteristic, workers are still protected from discrimination because of age, disability, and sex.
It is therefore essential that employers take practical and effective steps to support workers affected by the menopause to ensure that they are not disadvantaged or treated less favourably because of their symptoms.
Benefits to your Business
Almost one million women leave work due to menopausal symptoms according to a 2021 BUPA survey. There’s a strong business case for supporting women to remain in the workplace as they go through menopause.
Your organisation will benefit from:
- Increased engagement, loyalty and the retention of this skilled section of your workforce
- Reduced sickness absence and employee turnover
- Protection from discrimination and any potential employment tribunal claims
- An inclusive age & gender inclusive workforce
How we can help your business
Making menopause an inclusive subject that no employee is afraid or embarrassed to talk about helps make your organisation a great place to work, giving employees the confidence to ask for help and support if they really need it.
Why take menopause in the workplace seriously?
Making menopause an inclusive subject that no one is afraid or embarrassed to talk about helps make an organisation a great place to work, giving employees the confidence to ask for help and support if they need it.
Educating and informing leaders and managers to understand what menopause is, how it can affect an employee and how your business can help means they can have great conversations and provide the right support.
It’s the right thing to do, and if that’s not enough, it helps your organisation’s performance and financial bottom line too.
Increase productivity
Great companies invest in their employees, and experienced employees are your business’s biggest asset.
If menopausal symptoms are affecting performance or relationships, whether that’s obvious or hidden by the employee implementing ‘coping mechanisms’, your support can make a huge difference.
Lower absence levels
According to the Office of National Statistics, the groups who experienced the highest rates of sickness absence included women, older workers and those working in the largest organisations.
It is not clear how much absence is a result of menopause because this is not surveyed, however, 3 in 4 women experience symptoms, 1 in 4 severe.
So it makes sense that absence can be reduced with some simple, low-cost changes to support women experiencing symptoms.
Reduce your recruitment costs
Research said that 1 in 4 women had considered leaving work due to their menopause.
According to research, replacing leavers costs in the region of £30,000, including direct recruitment costs as well as the less tangible elements of bringing a new member of the team up to speed through induction to the required level of performance.
Reduce the risk of being taken to a tribunal
There have already been tribunals won by employees where their employer hasn’t taken menopausal symptoms into account. 100% of menopausal cases taken to tribunal in the last 5 years have successfully been won against their employers.
The average pay outs have been around £20,000 plus substantial legal costs.
The average cost of defending a tribunal is circa of £9,500. This doesn’t include any awards or claimant’s legal fees, which you need to pay if they win or hiring an employment lawyer.
The costs of not supporting menopause in the workplace
Not only are these tribunal awards costly, they would also have been costly in terms of legal fees. But there are also reputational costs to consider. This type of case can significantly damage an employer’s standing in terms of being a good and reasonable employer and supporting the health and wellbeing of all employees – not just women.
Practical tips to overcome these employment law risks are:
- Provide an accessible and well-publicised policy and associated documents.
- Don’t ignore the importance of Occupational Health Access.
- Training and development for those with employee management responsibilities.
- Be very mindful of the working environment/access to facilities.
- Remember to educate all key parties in the workplace.
- Implement ‘reasonable adjustments’ as you would with an employee with a disability.
- Treat menopausal employees with dignity and respect at all times.
Every woman goes through menopause in some form as the Menopause is a club that no woman wants to join…..!
Menopause is a very individual experience. It can affect everyone differently and, for those who experience symptoms, it can be a huge relief to know their employer will support them.