Menopause: why are workplaces failing women?

Recent research demonstrates that as many as sixty percent of women are currently suffering or will suffer from disabling menopausal symptoms. This means workers at every level who are female or who identify as female are suffering from debilitating menopausal symptoms.

Overlooking the consequences of menopause in the workplace can lead to:

• an unhappy, underperforming workforce

• high levels of sickness absence

• loss of workers at every level leading to skewed figures on wage equality and unequal representation in the boardroom 

• claims in the employment tribunal on the grounds of sex, disability, or age discrimination

Menopause is a complex and, for some, an embarrassing topic and workers often suffer in silence. A menopause policy including risk assessments and workplace training is required. But no one should make assumptions about menopause and particularly on the grounds of age because menopause is not just a condition of older workers, it can affect those aged between 45 to 55 and also those five years younger as the perimenopause sets in – a time when the body begins to transition. 12 million women in the UK are perimenopausal.

Workplaces must open up the conversation because workers must feel able talk to colleagues, line managers, HR and their employers, they must have confidence that effective steps will be taken to accommodate this phase in their lives.

A recent employment appeal tribunal case – Rooney v Leicester City Council – establishes a precedent for a finding of disability discrimination in this area. Ms Rooney was employed by Leicester City Council for twelve years as a childcare social worker. She resigned and claimed sex discrimination and disability discrimination because she had suffered severe menopausal symptoms – physical, mental and psychological – over a period for two years but received no constructive help from her employer. She related embarrassing discussions with male managers and insensitive comments from her line manager such as he often felt hot in the office too, and she received a written warning for being off sick. Her symptoms included insomnia, fatigue, light headedness, confusion, stress, depression, anxiety, palpitations, memory loss, migraines, hot flushes. She was under the care of her GP and a consultant at a specialist menopause clinic. 

The employment tribunal dismissed the disability and sex discrimination claims and Ms Rooney appealed. The employment appeal tribunal held she was disabled. Under the Equality Act a person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment and this has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities. “Long term” is defined as lasting for at least 12 months, or likely to last for at least 12 months, or for life. 

The tribunal considered the cumulative effect of impairments. Ms Rooney reported her symptoms led to forgetting meetings and appointments, forgetting to put the handbrake on her car, leaving the house without locking the doors. Under the Equality Act Guidance, someone can suffer minor disabilities across a variety of day-to-day tasks, but taken together, the cumulative result can amount to a substantial adverse effect.

Almost one million women in the UK have left jobs as a result of menopausal symptoms – a statistic remarked on by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee which is currently enquiring into menopause and the workplace. 

Call a specialist employment lawyer  

Magara law is an employment law firm in Bicester, Banbury, Reading and Paddington, London, and services clients nationwide. For more information or to our employment law team at Magara Law, call 01869 325 883 or email roy@magaralaw.co.uk.