July 5, 2023

Contents

    Why is menopause a hot topic?

    • In the UK, there are almost four million women aged 45–55 in work (ONS Social Survey Division 2021).

    • A study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 6 out of 10 women felt their menopause symptoms negatively affected their work.

    • BUPA reports that over 900,000 women have left work due to menopause symptoms.

    • Evidence suggests that, where women receive understanding and help from management, it can enable them to continue working productively during menopause Griffiths et al 2010.

    These facts paint a vivid picture for employers. The good news is that small changes can make a big difference when it comes to recognising and addressing menopause symptoms that might be making your employees think about leaving the workplace.

    How does menopause impact employers?

    By not taking menopause related issues seriously, there are several serious issues that employers face:

    1. You may lose highly-valued, talented employees. Research suggests that women are missing work or even leaving the workplace permanently because of menopause symptoms.

    2. You could put your business at risk of employment tribunal claims. Ignoring the needs of a certain age demographic or gender could be seen as discrimination or constructive dismissal.

    Having a Menopause Policy is a great way to set the right tone.
    If you care about staff retention, there are simple and cost effective steps you can take to make your workplace more hospitable.

    Please join us for our webinar on July 20 at 11am

    Register here

    We will send you dial in instructions for the webinar.

    Don't worry if you can't make this time, we will send a recording to everyone who registers. The webinar will be a panel discussion, hosted by our very own, Harriet Hutchinson.

    Our panellists bring breadth and depth of knowledge to this topic from a legal, business owner and people management perspective.

    • Special guest Julie Phillipps, People, Culture & Experience Lead, COEO

    • Special guest Louise Otton, Head of People, Infinity Group

    • Megan O’Hara, Employment Partner, Law 365

    • Kim Simmonds, CEO and Founder, Law 365

    What will we discuss?

    • The Government's response to recommendations made by the report on Women and Equalities Committee

    • What can businesses do to support women going through the menopause?

    • Menopause champions

    • Menopause leave

    • Proactive approaches that businesses can consider

    Raising awareness

    During lockdown, we were lucky at Law 365 to have a talk by menopause expert and author, Dr Naomi Potter - she noted that Law 365 was the first employer to invite their male staff to one of her talks!

    We made a resolution that day to join the cause of raising awareness about menopause so that women wouldn't need to suffer in silence or feel ashamed, as they may have in the past.

    We highly recommend Menopausing, the book that Dr Naomi Potter co-wrote with Davina McCall, for anyone impacted by menopause and its symptoms.

    Why not give a copy to your staff this Menopause Awareness Day (October 18 2023)? 

    Further reading

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