The UK Government has rejected requests to add menopause discrimination to the Equality Act and run pilots for dedicated leave days.
Despite this, the announcement shouldn’t stop businesses from making individual policies to help and support workers.
What did the recent Government announcement decide?
The Government has rejected calls for to trial menopause leave for women.
The Women and Equalities Committee submitted a report to the Government last July asking for more rights for women in the workplace.
The Government announced that they will not be making menopause a protected characteristic under the Equalities Act.
The Government did, however, outline its commitment that accepted “in principle” the Committee’s recommendations to launch a public health campaign around menopause and to appoint a menopause ambassador to monitor progress made by businesses in this area.
What can employers do?
Taking a proactive approach to this decision by the Government is important in ensuring your employees feel comfortable at work and maintain good communication with you. This will help manage your workforce and maintain productivity.
You can offer flexible working solutions, which can help employees to feel supported. This could include part-time working or working from home. You can also make other allowances for workers experiencing the menopause, such as relaxing parts of existing dress codes, where safe to do so.
Ensuring you have a supportive atmosphere for employees can take away added stress. By having a clear policy in place, this can reduce uncertainty for both employers and employees around handling issues which may arise.
If your employees are going through men menopause, you should be aware that this can, in some cases, result in additional absences and decreased concentration and productivity when in work.
Many women may ask to leave work or even retire due to the impact this can have on their working life.
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