Menopause Leave In The UK

Earlier this year, London’s City Hall implemented a menopause policy that puts in place practical steps to better support women and colleagues going through the menopause transition. Amongst other things, the policy includes temperature-controlled workspaces and flexible working adjustments for staff going through menopause.

London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has promised to make offices ‘as comfortable as possible’ for women experiencing symptoms, like hot flushes and anxiety. He also said he wants to shift people’s attitudes toward menopause and remove the stigma associated. Sadiq Khan said:

The physical and hormonal changes associated with menopause include hot flushes, low energy, issues with concentration, headaches, urinary tract infections, and insomnia. Symptoms of menopause can last up to 15 years, with one in four women experiencing these to a ‘severely debilitating’ level.

The British Menopause Society (BMS) has welcomed the policy and hopes that other employers will soon follow suit.

BMS statistics

Chairman of BMS, Haitham Hamoda, has said that menopausal symptoms affect more than 75% of women and last an average of seven years, in some cases longer.

Results from a BMS national survey showed that 45% of women indicated they felt their menopause symptoms had a negative impact on their work and that it is, therefore, imperative that support and advice are available to guide women through menopause and help them cope with it.

In implementing menopause leave, City Hall has pledged to accommodate the need to take breaks if symptoms become severe, to attend medical appointments, and for suitable changes to work tasks to be made for those experiencing symptoms.

As an employer should I be introducing a menopause leave policy?

As an employer it’s important to ensure your staff feel comfortable at work and feel like they can voice any concerns within the workplace, otherwise, it could lead to absence, low morale, and even resignations. For example, research carried out by Koru Kids, estimates that almost a million women in the UK could leave their jobs in 2022 because of a lack of support during menopause, while a BBC survey found that 70% of women experiencing menopause did not tell their bosses they were experiencing symptoms.

This shows why it’s important for employers to have an open dialogue with their employees and for employees to feel like they can speak to their employers about health-related issues such as menopause.

Having steps, procedures, and support in place to help staff affected by menopause is imperative. Also, having regular conversations and listening to their concerns can help resolve any issues early rather than employees resorting to resigning, raising grievances, and even taking legal action.

It’s important for employers to understand how menopause relates to the law. Key legislation includes:

Even though menopause itself is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, discrimination could still take place if an employee is put at a disadvantage or treated less favourably because of their menopause symptoms. This is because menopause may be linked to several protected characteristics, including:

Therefore, it is advised to have systems in place and ensure regular conversations are had about menopause in the workplace to ensure employees feel comfortable raising concerns and feel supported.