Government rejects menopause leave trial and warns of ‘discrimination risks towards men’
The Government has rejected calls to trial menopause leave for women, claiming it could be counterproductive and discriminate against men.
It comes after the women and equalities committee submitted a report last July, with 12 recommendations to give women more rights in the workplace.
Ministers said a pilot scheme on menopause leave was not ‘necessary’, while also refusing to make menopause a protected characteristic under the Equalities Act.
They added they were wary of creating ‘discrimination risks towards men suffering from long-term medical conditions, or eroding existing protections’.
‘We are focusing our efforts on disseminating best practice and encouraging employers to implement workplace menopause policies and other forms of support such as flexible working, which can play a vital role in supporting people to remain in work,’ ministers said.
Committee chairwoman Caroline Nokes fired back in a letter to health minister Maria Caulfield, calling it a ‘missed opportunity to protect vast numbers of talented and experienced women from leaving the workforce’.
The senior Tory MP said it leaves her ‘unconvinced that menopause is a government priority’.
‘The refusal to even consult on reforming equalities law doesn’t make sense and we urge the Government to look again,’ she added.
She went on: ‘The evidence to our inquiry was crystal clear that urgent action was needed across healthcare and work settings to properly address women’s needs, yet government progress has been glacial and its response complacent.’
The committee believes menopause would ‘force less women out of work’ if they were given the chance to take time off, deal with their symptoms and look at treatment options.
What is menopause?
Menopause is when your periods stop due to lower hormone levels. This usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55.
It can sometimes happen earlier, or for reasons such as surgery to remove the ovaries (oophorectomy) or the uterus (hysterectomy), cancer treatments like chemotherapy, or a genetic reason. Sometimes the reason is unknown.
Perimenopause is when you have symptoms before your periods have stopped. You reach menopause when you have not had a period for 12 months.
Menopause and perimenopause can cause symptoms like anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, hot flushes and irregular periods. These symptoms can start years before your periods stop and carry on afterwards.
Menopause and perimenopause symptoms can have a big impact on your life, including relationships and work.
There are things you can do to help with symptoms. There are also medicines that can replace the missing hormones and help relieve your symptoms.
Source: NHS
One in 10 women who worked through menopause ended up leaving their jobs because of their symptoms, a Fawcett Society survey found last year.
Several women told Metro.co.uk how time off work would have helped them when their symptoms first started.
Chantelle Znideric started experiencing perimenopause symptoms at the age of 38. She was tearful every day and suffered ‘horrendous’ periods, with only four days each month without bleeding.
She struggled to carry out ‘simple day-to-day tasks with brain fog and memory loss’ and this made her ‘feel like a complete failure’, the 44-year-old said.
The personal stylist based in Devon, who’s cut down her working hours due to the symptoms, believes she would have greatly benefitted from menopause leave, to ‘pause and reset the cog for even a couple of months’.
FYI: You’ve still got some legal protection if menopause is impacting your work
Introducing a contractual entitlement to menopause leave could help affected employees, says Kate Palmer, HR Advice and Consultancy Director at Peninsula.
But if your workplace isn’t open to this, all is not lost: you still have some protection.
‘While menopause won’t be a standalone protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, employers should remember that affected employees are still covered under existing characteristics,’ she explains.
‘First, any health condition, including the menopause, may be considered a disability under the Equality Act if its symptoms cause a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the employee’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Also, since only females, and those assigned female at birth, are affected by menopause, placing an employee at a disadvantage for a women’s health issue could amount to sex discrimination or harassment.’
Speak to your HR department, union or Citizen’s Advice for help on navigating potential discrimination issues at work.
Ministers have insisted they are behind other forms of menopause support, including being ‘committed to reducing the cost of HRT prescriptions’.
A spokesperson said: ‘We recognise that the menopause can be a challenging time for women, which is why we have put women’s health at the top of the agenda as part of the first-ever women’s health strategy for England.
‘We are implementing an ambitious programme of work with the NHS to improve menopause care so all women can access the support they need.
‘We encourage employers to be compassionate and flexible to the needs of their employees, and are committed to supporting more flexible working patterns – having consulted on making flexible working the default unless employers have good reasons not to.’
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